BP's Gulf of Mexico field which was originally scheduled to start production at the end of 2005 has hit new technical glitches which will push its start-up date to the middle of 2008.
This latest slippage in the Thunder Horse field will make it harder for BP to meet production growth targets in the coming years and also calls into question the company's skill at overseeing complex projects, especially when its management of Alaskan oilfield and pipelines in already under scrutiny.
BP announced that tests carried out had revealed metallurgical failure in components of the subsea system and that while the company plans to retrieve and rebuild all the subsea production equipment, it was too early to estimate the additional costs involved.
Thunder Horse's manifolds were manufactured by FMC Technologies, which also built the manifolds for the similarly sized Atlantis project.
The shut down of the Prudhoe Bay Field has severely affected BP's US output. The Alaskan problem and the fatal explosion at a BP Texas refinery last year have got regulators, lawmakers and law enforcement agencies investigating BP.
Thunder Horse, designed to process 250,000 barrels of oil and 200 million standard cubic feet of gas per day has been repeatedly delayed.
It is expected to be the biggest producer in the Gulf of Mexico when it finally gets going. BP owns 75 percent of the project with ExxonMobil owning the balance.
Leave a comment