Exxon Mobil Corp., which owns a 25% stake in Thunder Horse — the largest oil and gas discovery to date in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico — this week approved an undisclosed amount of money to fund its share of development costs. Together with 75% stakeholder BP, the Houston-based major will begin construction of what will become the world’s largest semi-submersible floating production, drilling and quarters (PDQ) unit, with a total operating displacement of more than 140,000 tons. The project is scheduled for initial oil and natural gas production in 2005.

The Thunder Horse and Thunder Horse North fields, which will be developed together, are located in deepwater 5,800 to 6,500 feet about 150 miles southeast of New Orleans. Peak production rates are targeted at 250,000 bbl/d of liquids, and 200 MMcf/d of natural gas. Up to 20 subsea wells will be located beneath the PDQ unit, with additional subsea wells connected from locations nearby. This unit could recover in excess of 1 billion boe, which would be the largest discovery to date in the Gulf. In addition to oil and associated gas processing capability, the PDQ unit will provide facilities capable of injecting up to 300,000 bbl/d of water.

Fabrication of topsides modules for the PDQ unit is now in progress at a Morgan City, LA, yard. Fabrication of the hull and rig is planned to start later this year in Okpo, Korea. Two mobile offshore rigs are currently onsite drilling production wells. (see Daily GPI, Feb. 14, 2001)

Majority stakeholder BP changed the discovery’s name to “Thunder Horse” earlier this year, announcing it would retire the name “Crazy Horse” after the family of the Lakota warrior “made BP aware that use of the name in this project is inappropriate.” BP’s decision last February was taken in consultation with the Interfaith Center on Corporate responsibility and Walden Asset Management, a money management organization that concentrates on socially responsible investment. The change was welcomed by both groups, and by the Lakota Nation, BP said.

In early August, BP CEO Lord John Browne said BP will spend at least $15 billion during the next 10 years on deepwater natural gas and oil exploration, development and production activities in the Gulf of Mexico, with the bulk of expenditures on drilling wells and developing fields that have already been discovered (see Daily GPI, Aug. 2). The London-based company also has not defined how much money has been specifically earmarked for Thunder Horse, one of its six major fields under development in the deepwater Gulf.

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