BP took a cue from a Greek epic poem to name its new deepwater Gulf of Mexico platform “Argos” after Odysseus’ loyal dog.
The massive platform is the centerpiece of BP’s $9 billion Mad Dog Phase 2 project to be located 200 miles south of New Orleans. The platform itself is currently under construction in South Korea and is expected to come online in the Gulf in 2021.
“This project is 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,” said Starlee Sykes, BP’s regional president for the Gulf of Mexico and Canada.
The news comes as BP is doubling down on its growth in the United States – both onshore and off. Less than a month ago, BP closed on the $10.5 billion acquisition of Texas shale assets from Australian mining company BHP Billiton to build its position in the Permian Basin in West Texas and the Eagle Ford shale in South Texas, and expand its presence in the Haynesville shale in East Texas.
As for the Gulf of Mexico, the Argos platform will be the first new BP facility in the Gulf since 2008 when the Thunder Horse project came online. It will be BP’s fifth operated platform in the Gulf.
The Mad Dog Phase 2 project was originally estimated to cost about $20 billion but, during the last oil bust, BP worked to simplify and downsize the project to dramatically shrink the costs. BP owned a 60.5 percent stake in the project. BHP holds a 23.9 percent share and Chevron owns the remaining 15.6 percent.
The Argos platform will have the capacity to produce 140,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day from up to 14 wells.
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