Chevron and its partner TotalEnergies have started production from the Anchor project in the deepwater US Gulf of Mexico.
The partners sanctioned the deepwater oil project in December 2019 with an estimated investment of around $5.7bn for the first stage.
The launch of production from Anchor demonstrates the effective deployment of advanced high-pressure technology, capable of safely operating at pressures up to 20,000 psi and in reservoir depths reaching 34,000ft below sea level.
The Anchor semi-submersible floating production unit (FPU) is designed to process 75,000 gross barrels of oil per day and 28 million gross cubic feet of natural gas per day.
This development includes seven subsea wells connected to the Anchor FPU, which is located in the Green Canyon area, about 225km off the coast of Louisiana, in water depths of around 5,000ft (1,524m).
The Anchor field is estimated to hold up to 440 million barrels of oil equivalent in recoverable resources.
Chevron’s operated and non-operated facilities in the Gulf are projected to produce a total of 300,000 net barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2026.