By Ariana Hurtado
Ahead of her keynote presentation at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), Starlee Sykes, bp's senior vice president of Gulf of Mexico (GoM) and Canada, shared a glimpse of what attendees can look forward to during her GoM-focused energy transition discussion.
"The Gulf of Mexico business is an essential driver of bp’s transformation from an international oil company to an integrated energy company," Sykes told Offshore magazine.
Sykes plans to highlight safety practices, digital and technology advances as well how the GoM is continuing to develop existing projects, such as Mad Dog 2.
In April 2021 bp announced that Argos, a new semi-submersible floating production platform, arrived in the U.S. at the Kiewit Offshore Services fabrication yard in Ingleside, Texas. The company called Argos "the centerpiece of bp’s $9 billion Mad Dog 2 project."
The platform is now on the Mad Dog 2 Field in final hookup and commissioning.
"Not only are emissions reductions here essential to helping us achieve our net-zero ambition; the cash flows from our oil and gas production will allow us to invest in the energy transition while continuing to grow this business," Sykes said. "Bringing online Argos, our fifth hub [in the GoM], by the end of the year will be key to this growth."
Argos is expected to significantly increase the company's oil and gas business in the region—an estimated 25% increase in production capacity, according to last year's news release.
Argos was also estimated to support about 800 jobs during the work in Ingleside and about 250 jobs in operation, the release stated.
The floating production platform is expected to help the GoM increase production from the current level of 350,000 bbl/d to 400,000 bbl/d by the middle of the decade.
"Nearly 200 miles south of New Orleans, the Argos platform operates at a water depth of 4,500 ft and can produce up to 140,000 boe/d through a subsea production system," the company stated on its website.
Argos is the first new platform in the GoM since Thunder Horse began production in 2008.
Sykes's keynote presentation, "The Role of Resilient Hydrocarbons on the Path to Net Zero: bp’s Perspective from the Gulf of Mexico," will take place at 8 a.m. Monday at OTC. For more details, visit the OTC technical program.
05.01.2022
UPDATE: Read Offshore Magazine's coverage of the bp keynote at OTC 2022: bp keynote focuses on hydrocarbon resiliency and new technology.
