The Atlantis Drill Center 1 expansion project turned out a big success for bp as it generated first oil, becoming the major's seventh upstream project startup of the year.
Overall, the platform is equipped to produce up to 200,000 barrels of oil per day. Designed to boost production by an additional 15,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, the project saw the link-up of two wells to an existing drill center, a subsea hub connecting multiple wells. New wells besides, the subsea tieback also includes existing offshore production facilities through pipelines, managing to keep the 1998-discovered field operational till date, making it bp's longest-running platforms in the Gulf of America.
bp approached the mega-scale project with a sustainable approach that saw the utilisation of existing subsea inventory while drilling and completing wells more efficiently, and streamlining offshore execution planning. This allowed project delivery two months ahead of its original schedule.
"Atlantis Drill Center 1 caps off an excellent year of seven major project start-ups for bp. This project supports our plans to safely grow our upstream business, which includes increasing US production to around 1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2030.
“This latest success demonstrates the dedication of our US project team and our teams around the world, who are delivering new barrels at pace and with lower production costs, in service of growing long-term value for shareholders," said Gordon Birrell, bp’s Executive Vice President of production and operations.
Andy Krieger, bp’s Senior Vice President for the Gulf of America and Canada, said, “This expansion at Atlantis is further testament to the benefits of maximising production from our existing platforms in the Gulf of America, growing bp’s US offshore energy production safely and efficiently.
"We are committed to investing in America as we firmly believe this region will continue to play a critical role in delivering secure and reliable energy to the world today and tomorrow.”
While bp is Atlantis’ operator with 56% working interest, Woodside Energy remains co-owner with 44% working interest.
