BP has taken a final investment decision (FID) on its 100%-owned Kaskida development located in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GoM).

“This FID marks a key first step in unlocking a material discovered resource base in the Kaskida and Tiber catchment areas of around 10 billion barrels in place, with material exploration potential,” BP CEO Murray Auchincloss said July 30 during the company’s second quarter 2024 webcast.

“Kaskida will be our sixth operated hub in the Gulf of Mexico, with planned capacity of 80,000 barrels of oil per day. The initial phase of six wells is expected to start producing later this decade, with an estimated 275 million barrels of oil equivalent of discovered recoverable resources at a total development cost of less than $5 billion,” Auchincloss said.

Additional wells could be drilled in future phases, subject to further evaluation, he said.

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Kaskida is located in the Keathley Canyon area about 250 miles southwest off the coast of New Orleans. BP discovered the Kaskida Field in 2006 and production is expected to start in 2029, BP said in its July 30 second-quarter 2024 earnings release.

In the GoM, BP operates five platforms: Argos, Atlantis, Mad Dog, Na Kika and Thunder Horse. In 2023, BP’s production in the GoM was close to 300,000 boe/d.

“Kaskida is a world-class resource base, in a prime location, with a supportive fiscal regime and access to market,” Auchincloss said. “It is an asset we own 100% and, together with the expected FID of Tiber in 2025, is expected to support the growth of our oil portfolio, delivering high-margin, advantaged barrels this decade and well into the next.”

BP’s CEO said that decision to potentially bring in a partner for GoM development would be reserved for a future date.

“Do we bring in a partner or not? Kaskida alone will be a 5% increase in operating cash flow when it comes in at a group level, 5% alone, and Tiber will follow that as well,” Auchincloss said in response to an analyst’s question. “So, it will be an interesting choice to ask me 12 [months] or 18 months away.”

Kaskida leveraging

BP plans to leverage existing platform and subsea equipment designs that can be replicated in future projects to drive cost efficiencies across Kaskida’s construction, commissioning and operations, the company said as well on July 30 in a separate press release on Kaskida.

Kaskida will be BP’s first development in the GoM to produce from reservoirs that will require well equipment with a pressure rating of up to 20,000 psi.

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“Developing Kaskida will unlock the potential of the Paleogene in the Gulf of Mexico for BP, building on our decades of experience in the region,” Gordon Birrell, BP’s executive vice president of production and operations, said in the release.

“Technology has and will continue to play a pivotal role in propelling Kaskida from discovery to production. Together with the other resources we have in the Paleogene, we expect it to prove to be a world-class development. Today is a critical step in realizing its potential,” Birrell said.