BP plc made another step towards its goal of adding 800,000 barrels of new production by 2020 with the start of production in December from the Thunder Horse South Expansion project. The project is expected to increase production at Thunder Horse, one of the largest Gulf of Mexico fields, by an estimated 50,000 gross barrels of oil equivalent. The Thunder Horse South Expansion project also started 11 months ahead of schedule and $150 million under budget. These facts demonstrate that deepwater projects can be executed in a cost-effective way “while keeping a relentless focus on safety,” Richard Morrison, regional president of BP’s Gulf of Mexico business, said in a Jan. 23 press statement. BP achieved the savings by relying on proven standardized equipment and technology, rather than building customized components. To keep costs down, BP used equipment from FMC Technologies that had previously been used at Thunder Horse. BP […]