BP PLC on Thursday said it started oil production at Argos, its first platform launch in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico since 2008 and its fifth operating in the basin.
London-based BP is increasing expenditures in the United States, home of its largest operations globally and where it has investments stretching from oil to renewables.
The new platform integrates the $9 billion Mad Dog 2 oil project and is part of BP’s plan to reach 400,000 barrels of oil and gas per day (boed) in the United States by mid-decade. Argos is expected to reach its 140,000 boed capacity later this year.
BP is investing an average of $2 billion a year to increase oil production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, while cutting elsewhere. The company plans to reduce its global oil and gas production by 25% by 2030, compared to 2019 levels.
The Gulf is a “super basin” that will keep producing oil for decades to come as costs and greenhouse gas emissions are lower than other regions, said Starlee Sykes, BP senior vice-president for North America.
BP also plans to increase spending in its U.S. onshore oil and gas business, mostly in Texas, by 41% to $2.4 billion in 2023 from $1.7 billion last year, according to a company presentation.