BP discovers oil off US Gulf Coast
By Sheila Dang
BP announced on Monday that it had made an oil find at the Far South Field in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The energy giant is seeking to increase production as part of a new strategy, which was announced earlier this summer.
Green Canyon Block 584 is located about 120 miles (203.12 km) from the coast of Louisiana. The initial well as well as a sidetrack both encountered oil. The company stated that preliminary data indicated a potential commercial volume of gas and oil.
The company also announced that it would increase its output in the Gulf of Mexico by 400,000 barrels of equivalent oil per day by 2030. The company expects the global production to be between 2.3 and 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by the end the decade with the potential to increase through 2035.
Early trade saw BP shares listed on the London Stock Exchange up 4.72%.
BP operates Far South, with 57.5% of the shares. Chevron has 42.5%.
BP announced a new strategy in February in order to improve its performance. It cut planned investments in renewable energy in order to refocus the company on oil and natural gas.
By 2030, the U.S. offshore and onshore regions are expected to deliver around 1 million boepd.
BP is planning to explore the ocean basin. The CEO Murray Auchincloss said at a recent conference that BP has approved the development the Kaskida Oilfield, located in the complex geological structure known as the Paleogene. It also plans to move forward with a second Paleogene project, Tiber later this year. Sheila Dang reported from Houston; Arunima Kumar contributed additional reporting in Bengaluru. Leslie Adler, Barbara Lewis and Barbara Lewis edited the article.
(source: Reuters)
