British energy company BP said Tuesday it has found 1 billion barrels of crude at the Thunder Horse field in the Gulf of Mexico after analyzing the results of breakthrough seismic imaging. Elsewhere, two new discoveries near the Na Kika production facility could provide further tie-back development opportunities, the company said.
“BP’s Gulf of Mexico business is key to our strategy of growing production of advantaged high-margin oil. We are building on our world-class position, upgrading the resources at our fields through technology, productivity and exploration success,” said Bernard Looney, BP’s Upstream Chief Executive.
“And these fields are still young – only 12% of the hydrocarbons in place across our Gulf portfolio have been produced so far. We can see many opportunities for further development, offering the potential to continue to create significant value through the middle of the next decade and beyond,” Looney added.
The Thunder Horse find comes in wake of the company approving a major expansion at the Atlantis field in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The $1.3 billion Atlantis Phase 3 development is the latest example of BP’s strategy of growing advantaged oil production through its existing production facilities in the Gulf, the company stated.
