Chevron Corp. announced May 17 that it has sanctioned the Ballymore project in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The project, with a design capacity of 75,000 barrels of crude oil per day, will be developed as a three-mile subsea tieback to the existing Chevron-operated Blind Faith platform.
“Chevron’s U.S. Gulf of Mexico production is some of the lowest carbon intensity production in our portfolio at around 6 kg CO2 equivalent per barrel of oil equivalent and is a fraction of the global industry average,” Steve Green, president of Chevron North America Exploration and Production, said in a press release.
Upon completion, Ballymore is expected to "add a reliable supply of U.S.-produced energy to help meet global demand," Green added. He also noted that the project is designed to lower development costs by using a "subsea tieback approach, standardized equipment and repeatable engineering solutions."
Ballymore will be Chevron’s first development in the Norphlet trend of the U.S. gulf. The project will be in the Mississippi Canyon area in around 6,600 feet of water, about 160 miles southeast of New Orleans. Potentially recoverable oil-equivalent resources for Ballymore are estimated at more than 150 million barrels.
The project, which involves three production wells tied back via one flowline to the nearby Blind Faith facility, will require an investment of approximately $1.6 billion. Oil and natural gas production will be transported via existing infrastructure. First oil is expected in 2025.
Chevron subsidiary Chevron U.S.A. Inc. is the operator of the Ballymore project with a 60% working interest. Co-owner TotalEnergies E&P USA, Inc. has a 40% interest.
Recommended Reading
Russia Orders Companies to Cut Oil Output to Meet OPEC+ Target
2024-03-25 - Russia plans to gradually ease the export cuts and focus on only reducing output.
BP Starts Oil Production at New Offshore Platform in Azerbaijan
2024-04-16 - Azeri Central East offshore platform is the seventh oil platform installed in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli field in the Caspian Sea.
Exxon’s Payara Hits 220,000 bbl/d Ceiling in Just Three Months
2024-02-05 - ExxonMobil Corp.’s third development offshore Guyana in the Stabroek Block — the Payara project— reached its nameplate production capacity of 220,000 bbl/d in January 2024, less than three months after commencing production and ahead of schedule.
Venture Global, Grain LNG Ink Deal to Provide LNG to UK
2024-02-05 - Under the agreement, Venture Global will have the ability to access 3 million tonnes per annum of LNG storage and regasification capacity at the Isle of Grain LNG terminal.
What's Affecting Oil Prices This Week? (Feb. 5, 2024)
2024-02-05 - Stratas Advisors says the U.S.’ response (so far) to the recent attack on U.S. troops has been measured without direct confrontation of Iran, which reduces the possibility of oil flows being disrupted.