BP has announced its new floating production unit in the deep water Gulf of Mexico part of the Mad Dog 2 project to be named Argos.
Image: BP’s Mad Dog project in the Gulf of Mexico. Photo: Courtesy of BP.
The name is a reference to Odysseus’ loyal dog from “The Odyssey,” and a nod to the Mad Dog spar.
Mad Dog spar is an existing production facility of the company located approximately six nautical miles away from the Argos site.
The Mad Dog 2 project, including the Argos platform is capable of producing approximately 140,000 gross barrels of crude oil per day from up to 14 production wells and eight water injection wells through a subsea production system.
BP’s regional president for the Gulf of Mexico and Canada Starlee Sykes said: “Selecting Argos as the name of our newest platform is an important milestone for the Mad Dog 2 project, which remains on track and on budget. This project is the key to delivering high-margin production from one of the largest fields in the Gulf of Mexico, and it will strengthen our position in the basin for years to come.”
The new platform Argos is considered the first of BP-operated production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico since 2008, after which, the Thunder Horse field came online. It is the BP’s fifth platform operated in the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to help the -giant Mad Dog oil field extend beyond 2050.
BP has made efforts with co-owners and contractors to reduce and regulate the platform’s design such that the overall project cost could be reduced by about 60%, which was originally estimated to be over $20bn.
BP and co-owners had approved the final investment decision in the project for $9bn in 2017. The co-owners include BHP with 23.9% stake and Union Oil Company of California with 15.6%.
Currently, the hull and topsides of the Argos platform are under construction in South Korea. The oil production from the facility is expected to start by the end of 2021.