bp has successfully delivered first oil from the Atlantis Drill Center 1 expansion project in the US Gulf of America, its seventh upstream major project startup of the year.
The project is expected to add 15 000 boe/d gross peak annualised average production at the existing Atlantis platform. Atlantis, one of bp’s longest-running platforms in the Gulf of America, has a gross production capacity of up to 200 000 bpd of oil.
The Atlantis Drill Center 1 expansion adds two wells to an existing drill center, a subsea hub connecting multiple wells. The subsea tieback, which connects new wells to existing offshore production facilities through pipelines, extends the footprint of the Atlantis field discovered in 1998.
bp delivered the Atlantis Drill Center 1 expansion project two months ahead of its original schedule by utilising existing subsea inventory, drilling and completing wells more efficiently, and streamlining offshore execution planning. This is bp’s fifth major startup that has been delivered ahead of schedule this year.
"Atlantis Drill Center 1 caps off an excellent year of seven major project start-ups for bp. This project supports our plans to safely grow our upstream business, which includes increasing US production to around 1 million boe/d by 2030.
“This latest success demonstrates the dedication of our US project team and our teams around the world, who are delivering new barrels at pace and with lower production costs, in service of growing long-term value for shareholders," said Gordon Birrell, bp’s executive vice president of production and operations.
The Atlantis Drill Center 1 expansion is the second in a series of new projects bp is planning in the US Gulf of America between now and the end of the decade that are expected to enable bp to boost its capacity to produce more than 400 000 boe/d from the US offshore region by 2030.
In August 2025, bp started up the Argos Southwest Extension project, a three-well subsea tieback that is adding 20 000 boe/d barrels a day of gross peak annualised average oil production to our Argos platform. In 2027, bp plans to deliver Atlantis Major Facility Expansion, which will further increase production from the Atlantis field using existing infrastructure.
“This expansion at Atlantis is further testament to the benefits of maximising production from our existing platforms in the Gulf of America, growing bp’s US offshore energy production safely and efficiently.
“We are committed to investing in America as we firmly believe this region will continue to play a critical role in delivering secure and reliable energy to the world today and tomorrow,” said Andy Krieger, bp’s senior vice president for the Gulf of America and Canada.
In addition to the Atlantis Drill Center 1 expansion project, bp started up major projects this year in Trinidad and Tobago (2), the UK North Sea, Egypt, Mauritania and Senegal, as well as Argos Southwest Expansion in the Gulf of America – contributing to its plan to deliver 10 major project startups globally by 2027.
bp is Atlantis’ operator with 56% working interest. The co-owner is Woodside Energy (44% working interest).
Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/12122025/bp-starts-up-seventh-major-project-of-2025/