By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, May 9 -- BP PLC has updated reserves figures for its Atlantis discovery in the southern Green Canyon region of the Gulf of Mexico to 575 MMboe. Initial estimates of Atlantis reserves were 300 MMboe.
BP operates Atlantis with 56% interest, and partner BHP Billiton Ltd. has 44% interest. Both companies also have approved expenditures that will allow them to make progress with Atlantis development engineering and the procurement of long lead-time items.
BP said its share of Atlantis development costs will exceed $1 billion, with production scheduled to begin in 2005.
BHP Billiton said full project approval is expected later this year upon completion of a final capital cost estimate and project schedule, which will be derived from front-end engineering and design work.
The gross capital cost is expected to be more than $2 billion, and BHP Billiton said its share would be $1 billion. BHP Billiton recently approved up to $355 million to advance the development of Atlantis, the company said.
Located in 4,400-7,100 ft of water, Atlantis will be developed with a moored semisubmersible production facility with a gross design capacity of around 150,000 b/d of oil and 180 MMscfd of gas. It also will have a separate semisubmersible drilling unit, the partners said.
The new well data was obtained through an appraisal well drilled by the Glomar Explorer drillship in fall 2001. It was the second appraisal well drilled at Atlantis. In 2000, BHP Billiton commissioned the C.R. Luigs drillship to drill an appraisal well in the field. BP drilled the Atlantis discovery well in 1998, using the semi-submersible rig Ocean America.
Atlantis, which covers six blocks, is 125 miles south of New Orleans near Green Canyon Block 743. It is one of three BP-operated properties under development in the southern Green Canyon area. Holstein and Mad Dog are in development. Together, the three projects account for more than 1 billion bbl of oil gross.
Oil and gas produced at Atlantis will be transported to a platform at Ship Shoal Block 332 by the Caesar and Cleopatra pipelines. From there, oil and gas can be transported to Texas and Louisiana (OGJ, Feb. 25, 2002, p. 8).