TotalEnergies is dropping out of the North Platte development, in the US Gulf of Mexico.
The French company has a 60% stake and is the operator of the plan, via its TotalEnergies E&P USA unit. Total has “better opportunities of allocation of its capital within its global portfolio” it said, in explanation.
Equinor has the remaining 40% stake. Total said there would be a short transition period to ensure a smooth transfer of operatorship.
TotalEnergies’ decision to withdraw is a disappointment, Equinor US country manager Chris Golden said. However, “Equinor remains committed to developing the North Platte project.”
“This high-quality project is a strategic fit for our material position in the US Gulf of Mexico and will add significant value with relatively low carbon emissions intensity. We are aligned with TotalEnergies to facilitate an orderly transition, including fulfilling our legal and regulatory requirements to move forward in development of the field.”
The company had planned to use the Valaris DS-11 rig to carry out work on the project. Valaris’ fleet status report in October said the contract was due to start in July 2024 and run until December 2027.
The drilling company has the rig stacked in Spain. Valaris reported it would receive an early termination provision should the project not go ahead.
Making plans
Total launched front-end engineering and design (FEED) work on North Platte in December 2019. At the time, it planned for eight subsea wells and two subsea drilling bases connected to a floating production unit (FPU).
The design called for production of 75,000 barrels per day. The field covers four blocks in the Garden Banks area, offshore Louisiana in water depths of 1,300 metres.
Total had described the reservoir as being high quality. In some places, it said, the reservoir thickness was more than 1,200 metres. It planned to take final investment decision (FID) on North Platte in 2021.
At the time it announced FEED on North Platte, it also took FID on the nearby Anchor project. This 80,000 bpd development should reach first oil in 2024.
Cobalt International Energy and Total discovered the North Platte field in 2012. They reported the well found around 170 metres of oil pay in Lower Tertiary reservoirs.
Cobalt went bankrupt in 2018, with Total increasing its stake to 60% and bringing in Equinor with a payment of $339 million.
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