Chevron’s New HPHT Deepwater Tech: Will It Enable More Oil Production?

 

     Chevron recently announced that production has begun at the Gulf of Mexico’s Anchor Field. TotalEnergies is a partner in the project. This is a significant milestone as it represents successful production ability in ultra-deep waters (~ 5000ft. water depth) and a new pressure record in high-pressure high temperature (HPHT) oil & gas production.

     The new HP technology allows production “that is rated to safely operate at up to 20,000 psi, with reservoir depths reaching 34,000 ft below sea level.” Thus, it is not just deepwater but deep subsurface and sub-seafloor reservoirs as well. According to World Oil:

 

“The Anchor semi-submersible floating production unit (FPU) has a design capacity of 75,000 bopd 28 MMcfgd. The Anchor development will consist of seven subsea wells tied into the Anchor FPU, located in the Green Canyon area, approximately 140 miles (225 km) off the coast of Louisiana, in water depths of approximately 5,000 ft (1,524 m). Total potentially recoverable resources from the Anchor field are estimated to be up to 440 MMboe.”

 

In accordance with carbon reduction goals, the Anchor FPU is an all-electric facility with electric motors and electronic controls. World Oil also reports that “the FPU utilizes waste heat and vapor recovery units as well as existing pipeline infrastructure to transport oil and natural gas directly to U.S. Gulf Coast markets.” 

 

Chevron holds a 62.86% working interest and TotalEnergies holds a 37.14% working interest.

 

     As an HPHT breakthrough, the new '20k technology' could be used in other HPHT areas and unlock deeper reserves globally. It could also help geothermal drilling which often encounters HPHT conditions. According to a Chevron executive:

  “Application of this industry-first deepwater technology allows us to unlock previously difficult-to-access resources and will enable similar deepwater high-pressure developments for the industry.”

Whether this new technology increases oil production remains to be seen. It won’t do it quickly, aside from this one FPU since these projects typically take years to a decade to develop. It does look like a promising technology for unlocking some big new fields in the future.

     Seeking Alpha notes Chevron’s GoM production forecasts and some history of the high-pressure  fields:

“Chevron (CVX) said the Anchor FPU is its sixth operated facility currently producing in the Gulf of Mexico, and the company expects its operated and non-operated facilities in the GoM will produce a combined 300K net boe/day by 2026.”

“BP discovered the Gulf of Mexico’s first 20K-psi field, called Kaskida, in 2006, but subsea technologies of the time did not allow development and have largely been capped at pressures of 15K psi.”

The field is more HP than HT, although at those depths it is HT as well at 250 degrees F. There are long-produced onshore fields like the Haynesville and Bossier fields with reservoir temperatures of 300 degrees F. However, those fields at 10,000-11,000 ft are much lower pressure than the 29,000 ft plus 5,000 ft water depth (=34,000ft) of the Anchor field.

 

According to Reuters via Rystad Energy:

"Similar high-pressure, high-temperature oil fields that would benefit from the 20k technology are found off the coasts of Brazil, Angola and Nigeria, said Aditya Ravi, a Rystad Energy analyst. The Gulf of Mexico will be the proving ground for the new gear."

"Brazil has major offshore developments that "are prime candidates for future 20k technology application due to their complex high pressure, high-temperature environments," he said."

"Including non-U.S. fields, more than 5 billion barrels of known oil and gas of known resources globally could benefit from the technology, Ravi said. Those volumes equate to about 50 days of current global production."

References:

Chevron Breakthrough Could Cause Surge In Oil Supply. Douglas McIntyre. Climate Crisis 247. August 13, 2024. Chevron Breakthrough Could Cause Surge In Oil Supply (msn.com)

Chevron starts production at GoM's Anchor field with deepwater tech breakthrough. Seeking Alpha. August 12, 2024. Chevron starts production at GoM's Anchor field with deepwater tech breakthrough (msn.com)

Chevron, TotalEnergies begin oil and gas production from Anchor deepwater HPHT project offshore U.S. Gulf of Mexico. World Oil. August 12, 2024. Chevron, TotalEnergies begin oil and gas production from Anchor deepwater HPHT project offshore U.S. Gulf of Mexico (worldoil.com)

New drilling technology to put billions of barrels of oil in reach, analysts say. Gary McWilliams, Reuters. August 14, 2024. New drilling technology to put billions of barrels of oil in reach, analysts say (msn.com)