BP has started producing oil at the Argos Southwest Extension subsea project in the U.S. Gulf of America, the company said Aug. 4, extending the footprint of the Mad Dog Field discovered in 1998.
The three-well subsea tieback is expected to add 20,000 boe/d of gross peak annualized average production at the existing Argos platform, which is the centerpiece of BP’s Mad Dog 2 project in the Gulf. In addition to the three wells, the project included a new drill center about 5 miles southwest of Argos, BP said.
“Argos’ expansion project demonstrates how BP can swiftly bring new barrels to market safely and efficiently,” said Gordon Birrell, executive vice president of production and operations at BP. “Our ability to move from resource discovery to first oil at record pace underscores our relentless pursuit to grow shareholder value.”
The project, which was completed ahead of schedule in a record company time of approximately 25 months, is the first of three major deepwater expansion and newbuild projects BP is working on in the Gulf. BP said it aims to grow its production capacity in the Gulf by around 400,000 boe/d by 2030.
Other projects include the Atlantis Drill Center 1 expansion to add approximately 15,000 boe/d of peak production with planned startup in 2026 and the Atlantis Major Facility expansion to further lift production starting in 2027.
China Certifies 147MMbbl of Oil Reserves in Sinopec Shale Field
(Reuters) China’s Sinopec Corp. said on July 31 the Chinese government has certified geological oil reserves of 20.1 MMmt, or 147 MMbbl, in a new shale play the company operates in southwest China.
The Ministry of Natural Resources also certified 12.35 Bcm of geological gas reserves in Fuxing Field, located in the municipality of Chongqing, Sinopec said in a statement.
The Fuxing discovery, located in the southeastern rim of the Sichuan basin and with the first successful exploration well drilled in 2021, marked a breakthrough in shale oil exploration in a traditionally gas-rich zone.
Sinopec said it would further expand exploration and evaluation of similar deposits in the Sichuan basin, building on a new understanding of the geology and improved technology.
Sinopec, which operates China’s first major commercial shale gas field, has in recent years been expanding exploration and production of shale oil.
Besides Fuxing, Sinopec has tapped two other shale oil plays, Xinxing in the Jiyang trough of the Bohai Bay basin and the Qintong field in the Subei basin in east China. Those two finds have combined geological reserves of 1.3 Bbbl.
Despite the huge resource potential, shale oil remains among the most geologically challenging and costly types of oil to explore and produce, and production remained miniscule.
Sinopec last year produced 705,000 mt, or 5.15 MMbbl, of shale oil. It is aiming for 2 MMton a year or 40,000 bbl/dof output by 2030, which would be less than 1% of total national oil production.
BP Makes Its Largest Oil, Gas Find in 25 Years
BP on Aug. 4 said it struck oil and gas at the deepwater Bumerangue prospect offshore Brazil, marking its largest discovery in 25 years.
Drilled in the prolific Santos Basin to a total depth of 5,855 m, the exploration well hit an estimated 500-m hydrocarbon column in a high-quality presalt carbonate reservoir with an areal extent of more than 300 sq km, BP said in a news release. The water depth was 2,372 m.
“This is another success in what has been an exceptional year so far for our exploration team, underscoring our commitment to growing our upstream,” said Gordon Birrell, executive vice president for production and operations at BP. “Brazil is an important country for BP, and our ambition is to explore the potential of establishing a material and advantaged production hub in the country.”
The discovery was made as the supermajor refocuses on fossil fuels and less on renewable energy. Investor pressure and ambitions to improve financial performance were behind the strategic shift.
Bumerangue is the 10th discovery for BP this year on its journey to boost its global upstream production to between 2.3 MMboe/d to 2.5 MMboe/d in 2030.
BP said it will now begin laboratory analysis to further characterize the reservoir and fluids discovered at Bumerangue. The analysis is expected to provide additional insight into the potential of the Bumerangue block. Subject to regulatory approval, additional appraisal activities will be carried out.
BP holds a 100% stake in the block. Pré-Sal Petróleo S.A. is the production sharing contract manager.
Other discoveries made by BP in 2025 include Beryl and Frangipani in Trinidad, Fayoum 5 and El King in Egypt, Far South in the Gulf of America, Hasheem in Libya and Alto de Cabo Frio Central in Brazil. The company has also made discoveries in Namibia and Angola through Azule Energy, a 50:50 joint venture with Eni.
Field Development
Azule Produces First Oil at Agogo Offshore Angola
Azule Energy, the joint venture company between Eni and BP, has flowed oil from the Agogo FPSO vessel in the lower Congo Basin offshore Angola, Eni said Aug. 1.
The start of production from the Agogo Integrated West Hub development came about two years after a final investment decision was reached for the project. The development, which comprises the Agogo and Ndungu fields, has combined reserves of approximately 450 MMbbl, Eni said. Peak production is expected to be around 180,000 bbl/d. The FPSO used also has a carbon capture and storage unit onboard.
Azule has a 36.84% stake in the project and is operator. Partners are Sonangol E&P, which also holds a 36.84% stake, and Sinopec International with a 26.32% stake.
Strohm Completes Initial Jumper Fabrication for ExxonMobil Project Off Guyana
A thermoplastic composite pipe jumper is installed subsea at depths of more than 1,700 m. (Source: Strohm)
Thermoplastic composite pipe maker Strohm has completed fabrication of 13 water alternating gas injection TCP jumpers for Exxon Mobil-operated Yellowtail Field offshore Guyana.
The equipment is part of Strohm’s Jumper on Demand concept, which allows multiple pipe lengths to be spooled from a delivery reel of pipe, cut to various lengths onsite and fabricated by the company’s field service group.
“This first Jumper on Demand campaign for Exxon Mobil applies a high-volume fabrication method, proving that onsite fabrication of TCP jumpers has the flexibility to scale up or down as the installation schedule demands,” said Gavin Leiper, vice president of Strohm’s Americas region and global Field Services Group.
The fabrication method aims to lower costs and increase efficiency.
Strohm said the first two TCP jumpers were integrated with vertical connections, pressure tested and installed subsea at depths of more than 1,700 m in July. The jumpers were locked in and back seal tested by Exxon’s installation contractor.
ADNOC Drilling Co. was awarded a five-year oilfield services contract by ADNOC Onshore to provide integrated hydraulic fracturing services for conventional and tight reservoirs, according to a June 30 news release.
The contract, which begins in third-quarter 2025, was valued at $800 million.
The drilling company said the contract’s work scope supports its goal to accelerate conventional and tight reservoir development across the United Arab Emirates. ADNOC Drilling said it plans to use proprietary fracturing simulation software, intelligent fluid systems and automated pumping units and blending systems.
Oxford Flow Begins Commercial Trial of Stemless Control Valve
Flow control equipment specialist Oxford Flow on July 31 said it has started commercial trials of its ES stemless control valve with ADNOC at the Upper Zakum and Das Island fields in the Arabian Gulf.
The onshore and offshore pilots aim to demonstrate the valve’s ability to eliminate fugitive emissions. The valve, which has no stem or external actuator, removes common failure points, reduces maintenance requirements and enables a significantly smaller footprint, Oxford said in a news release.
The technology was a finalist in ADNOC’s inaugural Decarbonization Technology Challenge.
“Receiving a commendation in ADNOC’s Decarbonization Technology Challenge was a strong endorsement of the technology and its relevance to the industry’s net zero ambitions,” said Oxford Flow CEO Neil Poxon. “Leaking valves are a major, often overlooked, source of emissions. By replacing them, operators can make fast, material progress in decarbonizing both onshore and offshore systems. It’s a significant step forward to now see ADNOC piloting the ES valve in live operations.”
The Ocean Intervention II vessel was launched in 2000 for geophysical and geotechnical surveys. (Source: Oceaneering International)
An oceanographic research vessel owned by Oceaneering International has been upgraded to perform simultaneous autonomous survey operations, the company said July 30.
The Ocean Intervention II vessel was launched in 2000 for geophysical and geotechnical surveys; however, upgrades throughout 2025 enable the vessel to transition between autonomous underwater vehicles and towed geophysical surveys, and geotechnical sampling, supporting multi-discipline survey campaigns, Oceaneering said.
In addition to survey system upgrades, the vessel underwent rear deck and interior refurbishments that include a launch and recovery system for uncrewed surface vehicles and AUVs. Its computer rack room was also retrofitted with Microsoft Azure Cloud services integrated for data processing and analysis.
SLB Unveils Autonomous Logging Platform
SLB has launched technology that autonomously acquires multiple, high-fidelity measurements downhole without a wireline unit or wireline cable.
The company on July 29 said the OnWave autonomous logging platform is designed to improve efficiency and enable reliable acquisition of formation evaluation measurements. SLB said the platform’s design takes less than half the time to deploy compared with conventional wireline platforms. The platform can acquire borehole measurements, conduct data quality checks and verify tool positioning and functionality without an SLB crew onsite, the company said.
“The OnWave platform marks the beginning of a new era in formation evaluation,” said Frederik Majkut, president of reservoir performance at SLB. “By streamlining how we gather high-fidelity measurements downhole, we are opening up key opportunities for our customers to integrate data-driven decision making into their workflows across the well life cycle—from exploration through to production and recovery.”
The technology has been deployed in several basins, including in the Middle East and the U.S. SLB said the platform reduced the landing time to total depth of the well from hours to just 27 minutes in South Texas.
This conversation is moderated according to Hart Energy community rules. Please read the rules before joining the discussion. If you’re experiencing any technical problems, please contact our customer care team.
