BP Amoco has 1.6 billion barrels of oil reserves and an unknownquantity of deep-water natural gas reserves scheduled forproduction in 2003 in the Gulf of Mexico but currently there are nomeans of transportation to shore. The company said yesterday it hasformed a new Gulf of Mexico deepwater oil and gas transportationproject team to investigate its options to bring to shore thereserves in the southern Mississippi Canyon, the southern AtwaterValley and the Green Canyon areas of the Gulf.

“We estimate the cost of providing the needed infrastructure tobe in excess of one billion dollars,” said David H. Welch,president of BP Amoco Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Development. “We areinitiating this effort on a 100% BP Amoco funded basis to allow usto direct the pace of this work, giving us greater assurance thatthe transportation option(s) selected will be available when ournew discoveries begin producing.”

Jerry F. Wenzel, who has been selected to head the project team,said it will work along two tracks: one for oil and the other forgas. “We expect to develop a set of recommendations and beginexecution of the project in the next year,” he said.

“Our expectation is that the first segments of the system willbe available for use as early as 2003 when the first of the fieldsunder development is ready to begin production,” Wenzel said.

The discoveries behind the expected production include BPAmoco’s Crazy Horse, Holstien, Mad Dog, Atlantis and Nakikadeep-water projects.

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