Enbridge will build pipelines for BP’s latest Gulf of Mexico oil project

Canadian pipeline giant Enbridge Inc has decided it will build and operate oil and gas pipelines in the US Gulf of Mexico that will serve BP’s latest oil project in the area.

Enbridge will build the pipelines, expected to cost about $700 million, for the recently sanctioned Kaskida development announced by BP earlier this year, the Canadian firm said on Thursday.

At the end of July, BP made the final decision to invest in the Kaskida project as part of its long-term commitment to provide safe, affordable and reliable energy.

Kaskida, which will be BP’s sixth hub in the Gulf of Mexico, will have a new floating production platform with the capacity to produce 80,000 barrels of crude oil per day from six wells in the first phase. Production is expected to begin in 2029.

The Kaskida field has discovered recoverable resources currently estimated at about 275 million barrels of oil equivalent from the initial phase, said BP, the 100% owner of the field.

“Located in the Keathley Canyon area, approximately 250 miles southwest of the coast of New Orleans, the Kaskida project unlocks the potential future development of 10 billion barrels of discovered resources in the Kaskida and Tiber catchments,” BP said.

Enbridge has now sanctioned plans to build a crude oil pipeline with a capacity of 200,000 barrels per day. It will originate in the Keathley Canyon area and deliver crude oil to the existing Green Canyon 19 platform, operated by Shell Pipeline Company, for final delivery to the Louisiana market. The natural gas pipeline will have a capacity of 125 million cubic feet per day and will connect subsea to Enbridge’s existing Magnolia Gas Gathering Pipeline.

Enbridge will begin detailed design and procurement activities in early 2025, with the pipelines expected to be operational by 2029.

BP’s Kaskida development will require high-pressure well equipment with pressures of up to 20,000 pounds per square inch (20K).

Earlier this year, Chevron started production at its $5.7 billion Anchor project in the Gulf of Mexico, making history with the first successful application of new high-pressure technology for ultra-deep reservoirs.

Recent developments in ultra-high-pressure drilling technology, such as that used by Chevron at Anchor, could unlock more than 5 billion barrels of known but previously inaccessible oil deposits globally, including more than 2 billion barrels in the US Gulf of Mexico alone, analysts said. .

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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