Chevron Starts Oil, Natural Gas Production at Ballymore Project

Chevron U.S.A. began producing oil and natural gas at the Ballymore project in the Mississippi Canyon region of the Gulf of America. This subsea tieback is estimated to contain 150 million barrels of oil equivalent recoverable resources to be extracted over the project’s lifetime. The Ballymore development is located:

• In approximately 6,600 feet of water
• About 160 miles southeast of New Orleans, LA
• In Chevron’s Gulf-based Norphlet trend

“Ballymore is an example of how we are leveraging technology and driving efficiencies to help produce affordable, reliable energy from the deepwater Gulf of America, one of the lowest-carbon-intensity oil and gas producing basins in the world,” said Brent Gros, Vice President, Chevron Gulf of America. “Ballymore, which was completed on time and on budget, brings additional production online without building a new standalone offshore platform. This reduces our development costs and is expected to drive higher returns for shareholders.”

The Ballymore project is slated to produce up to 75,000 barrels of oil per day across three wells, contributing to Chevron’s target to produce 300,000 net barrels of oil equivalent per day in the Gulf of America in 2026. These wells are connected to Chevron’s Blind Faith facility, located only three miles away. Chevron U.S.A. is Ballymore’s operator with a 60% working interest and the co-owner, TotalEnergies E&P U.S.A., holds a 40% working interest.

Ballymore subsea tieback; image credit: Chevron U.S.A.

This development is Chevron’s third to produce oil in the last calendar year, with notable start-ups from the Anchor and Whale Projects.

Anchor

In August 2024, Chevron started oil and natural gas production at its deepwater asset in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico—the Anchor project. The Anchor—a semi-submersible floating production unit (FPU)—features a design capacity of 75,000 gross barrels of oil per day and 28 million gross cubic feet of natural gas per day. The site has reservoir depths up to 34,000 feet below sea-level, and production is aided by high-pressure technology rated up to 20,000 psi.

Development includes seven subsea wells connected to the Anchor FPU, located in the Green Canyon approximately 140 miles offshore Louisiana, in water depths of about 5,000 feet. It is designed as an all-electric facility with electric motors and electronic controls to minimize carbon emissions. In addition, the FPU uses waste heat and vapor recovery units and existing pipelines to transport oil and natural gas to U.S. Gulf Coast markets. The site contains up to 440 million barrels of oil equivalent in estimated recoverable resources.

Whale

In January 2024, Chevron’s Whale semi-submersible platform started oil production in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico, with a projected peak production of 100,000 gross boe/d and up to 15 wells under development. The Whale platform is approximately 200 miles southwest of Houston on Alaminos Canyon Block 773 in more than 8,600 feet of water. It’s also located approximately 10 miles from the Shell-operated Perdido spar platform, in which Chevron owns 37.5% interest.

The Whale contains gas turbines and compression systems equipped with energy-efficient technology and utilizes a simplified design that may deliver lower emissions, lower costs, and higher returns for Chevron.