Deep-water production
Deep-water exploration and production is an opportunity BP has been exploiting since it began operating in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico in 1994
More than 20% of its production is now in deep water or subsea (that is when production equipment is placed beneath the sea’s surface), a figure which is expected to rise to more than 35% by 2010.
Deep-water production presents an array of challenges such as high pressures and temperatures; greater distances between wells and the host production facility; heavier crudes; and low-energy reservoirs resulting in low production rates. Maintenance and monitoring pose financial and practical challenges in deep remote environments – now up to 7,000 feet deep. It demands the integration of technologies and sciences on an unprecendented scale.
Deep-water production presents an array of challenges such as high pressures and temperatures; greater distances between wells and the host production facility; heavier crudes; and low-energy reservoirs resulting in low production rates. Maintenance and monitoring pose financial and practical challenges in deep remote environments – now up to 7,000 feet deep. It demands the integration of technologies and sciences on an unprecendented scale.
At BP's King field in the Gulf of Mexico, flowlines over 1.5km under water carry fluids to the floating Marlin platform
Technology to tackle the challenge
Successful exploitation of these resources has required re-engineering of the entire production system – featuring floating rather than fixed production structures, subsea and subsurface equipment and component development, new approaches to monitoring and maintenance, improvements in information and sensing, and major engineering challenges such as connecting new discoveries far distant from existing production facilities.
Na Kika platform in the Gulf of Mexico
Depth equals breadth
BP has already successfully explored the deep-water world of offshore Angola, the Gulf of Mexico, Egypt and in the future Libya and India. Advancing key deep-water engineering systems and technologies, establishing long-term relationships with key engineering design houses and vendors, and standardizing equipment have been crucial to this success.Our investment is paying off
BP has invested more than $14 billion in major projects in the Gulf of Mexico’s deepwater since 1994. The group has the largest number of net leases in the Gulf of Mexico, due in part to its track record of being a ‘high recovery’ oil and gas producer, even in deep waters.
Thunder Horse is supported by a network of no fewer than 25 subsea wells
The BP operated Thunder Horse started production in 2008. With the capacity to process more than a quarter of a million barrels of oil per day and 200 million cubic feet per day of natural gas, Thunder Horse is currently the largest single producing field in the Gulf of Mexico. Today, with seven wells online, it is producing around 300,000 mboed. Further development work is being undertakne to complete the subsea infrastructure in the north of the field which will add two new wells to production
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