It has taken five years and $5.7 billion, but Chevron announced a successful operational and technical breakthrough on August 12 that could create a new template for deep sea exploration with equipment improvements that permit operations at pressures of 20,000 psi. Until their announcement, the generally accepted technical limit was 15,000 psi.
The company has partnered with France’s TotalEnergies on the project. Chevron and TotalEnergies have a little over 62% and 37% interest, respectively. The successful installation is in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) in the Anchor Field in the Green Canyon area of the GOM, approximately 140 miles off the coast of Louisiana.
The French multi-national (Chevron is California-based until it completes its announced move to Texas) is no stranger to the Gulf. TotalEnergies is already the leading exporter of U.S. LNG, which will be boosted further with its soon-to-open Rio Grande LNG plant. It also has natural gas production in Texas and a power trading office in Houston.
The engineering involves seven subsea wells connected to a semi-submersible floating production unit (FPU). The system is all electric (motors, controls) from waste heat; vapor recovery technologies further reduce carbon emissions.
FPU’s are used in deep water where standard offshore rigs are impractical.
The semi-submersible FPU gets most of its buoyancy from ballasted, watertight pontoons below the ocean surface, making them safer and more accessible to mobilize than standard offshore rigs. They connect to the operating deck high above the ocean to avoid potential wave damage.
The partners say they expect initial production capacity of 75,000 barrels of oil per day and 28 million cubic feet of gas per day.
Other producers are close behind. Beacon Offshore Energy is about a year behind the 20,000-psi sweepstakes when it expects first oil production from its Shenandoah deepwater field in the second quarter of 2025 off the coast of Louisiana.
BP might be even closer. Though its Kaskida deepwater 20,000 psi GOM field was discovered in 2006, it was just last month that the company announced plans to develop the field. Initial production is said to be about five years off.
