Beacon Offshore Energy announced that it had begun production at its Winterfell project in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) in early July from two wells. It expects a third well to start service before the end of 3Q, bringing total output to 20 Mboe/d. The company also said it has completed drilling four wells in Phase 1 of its Shenandoah field development. First production from Shenandoah is targeted for Q2 2025. The project will be tied to a 120 Mb/d floating production system (FPS). The Shenandoah FPS will also receive production from Beacon's next development called Monument. The Monument project will initially have two wells, with service set for 3Q 2026.
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Got Me Under Pressure - Chevron's Anchor Project Opens a New Frontier in Deepwater Production
The Gulf of Mexico (GOM) has long been a hotspot for crude oil and natural gas production, but technological advancements have pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in deepwater operations, opening previously inaccessible reservoirs. Chevron is the first to deploy new equipment capable of handling the more extreme pressures found very deep below the seafloor. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll highlight the project — known as Anchor — and explore how this new technology is paving the way for similar developments.
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Smooth Sailing? - Gulf of Mexico Crude Oil Producers Braced for Price/Coronavirus Storm
In the stormiest market environment for crude oil in many years, it’s hard to find a spot where the sailing is smooth. If even-keel conditions exist anywhere in the oil-producing world today, it might be the offshore Gulf of Mexico, where producer decisions to invest in new platforms or subsea tiebacks are based on very long-term oil-price expectations and the production, once initiated, is steady. In the second half of the 2010s, Gulf producers significantly reduced the average breakeven prices needed to justify their most promising new investments — from more than $55/bbl back in 2015 to less than $35/bbl today. Given what’s happened to crude oil prices the past few days, however, it’s logical to wonder whether any of even the best prospective Gulf of Mexico projects will be sanctioned this year. Today, we discuss how cost-cutting and efficiency improvements have made the offshore Gulf a comparatively steady, growing base of U.S. crude oil production that so far has been less vulnerable than shale output to oil-price gyrations.
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Take A Chance On Me - Oil Explorers Plan for Production Growth in U.S. Gulf of Mexico
Crude oil production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is poised for a growth spurt through 2030 even as producers brace for a host of challenges, not least from forecasts that global oil demand will subside in the long term. But while the GOM’s supply accounts for a relatively small portion of total U.S. production, exploration and production companies (E&Ps) haven’t lost interest, in part because the Gulf offers key crude grades in high demand. In today’s RBN blog, we examine what is stoking the renewed interest in developing the GOM.
