BP today announced the successful start-up of the world's deepest subsea multi-phase pump project, a breakthrough in application of a technology with the potential to increase recovery of oil from deepwater fields.
Installation of the two subsea pumps and associated equipment at the King field in the Gulf of Mexico sets a double world record, for both depth and distance.
At 5,500 feet below the sea's surface, the King facilities are in water almost twice as deep as the previous deepest installation of multi-phase pumps. The pumps are also positioned over 15 miles from the Marlin tension leg platform - well over twice the previous record distance from a host platform of six miles. BP is 100 per cent owner and operator of King.
The two pumps will enhance production from the King field by an average of 20 per cent. After its 2002 start-up, the King field reached peak production in 2004, with recent production averaging 27,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day. In addition to the increase in production, this project will allow a seven per cent increase in recovery, extending the economic life of the field by five years.
"In line with our strategy to maximise reserves from our existing fields, the application of this cutting edge technology across BP's large deepwater portfolio has the potential to unlock significant resources that would otherwise remain unrecoverable," said Andy Inglis, BP's Chief Executive of Exploration & Production.