Page 10 - NorthAm Week 25 2021

NorthAmOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES NorthAmOil

BP brings Manuel online

GULF OF MEXICO BP announced this week that it had started up super-major is pursuing a long-term strategy
the Manuel project in the US Gulf of Mexico, of decarbonising and shifting away from fossil
consisting of a subsea production system for two fuels. However, Manuel’s start-up and Sykes’
new wells tied into the existing Na Kika platform. comments illustrate that new oil and gas devel-
The wells are expected to boost gross production opments still fit into BP’s strategy for now.
from the platform by an estimated 20,100 barrels Manuel is the fourth of five major projects
of oil equivalent per day (boepd). that BP is bringing online globally in 2021,
The wells – which are located in Mississippi which will add a combined 900,000 boepd to
Canyon Block 520, around 140 miles (225 km) the company’s output. Its start-up comes ahead
off the coast of New Orleans – were drilled to a of BP also preparing to bring the Argos plat-
depth of roughly 21,000 feet (6,400 metres). BP form into service in the Gulf next year as part
and Royal Dutch Shell each hold a 50% stake in of the $9bn Mad Dog 2 project. Argos will be
the project. the first platform to be launched in the Gulf by
“Manuel is exactly the type of high-value pro- BP since 2008, prior to the Deepwater Horizon
ject that is critical to growing our business here in disaster.
the Gulf of Mexico,” stated BP’s senior vice-pres- As well as Na Kika, BP currently also operates
ident for the Gulf of Mexico and Canada, Starlee the Thunder Horse, Atlantis and Mad Dog plat-
Sykes. “BP’s focused and resilient hydrocarbons forms in the Gulf. The super-major anticipates
business is a key pillar of our strategy.” that its Gulf output will rise to more than 400,000
The news about Manuel comes as the boepd by the mid-2020s.™

ENERGY TRANSITION

Devon signs up to net zero

US OKLAHOMA-BASED Devon Energy has
unveiled a new set of environmental perfor-
mance targets, including a goal of net zero
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. It
becomes the latest among a growing number of
US oil and gas companies to adopt a long-term
net-zero target.
Devon’s net-zero goal comprises Scope 1
and Scope 2 emissions – respectively the ones it
generates directly from its operations and those
indirect emissions stemming from energy pur-
chased to power its operations. To date, few oil
producers have committed to eliminating Scope example, the company said it would target a
3 emissions – those indirect emissions generated flaring intensity of 0.5% of gross natural gas pro-
by the buyers of a company’s products – which duced by 2025 and would eliminate routine flar-
are expected to be the most difficult type of emis- ing – as defined by the World Bank – by 2030. It
sions to address. has also set a water recycling target of using 90%
Under its new emission reduction strategy, or more non-freshwater for completion activities
Devon expects to focus on a number of areas in its most active operating areas within the Per-
across its operations, including leak detection mian’s Delaware sub-basin.
and repair, as well as an effort to reduce natu- The company has set an intermediate target
ral gas flaring. The company is also proposing of reducing its Scope 1 and 2 emissions intensity
to electrify its equipment in a bid to reduce the by 50% and methane emissions intensity by 65%
use of natural gas and diesel consumed onsite, by 2030 from a baseline of 2019.
including by transitioning from gas-driven to “We know the need for oil and gas will remain
air-driven pneumatic controllers. for decades, but as good stewards, it is incum-
Devon has also unveiled a subset of targets bent on us to improve how we produce and
across different areas that will contribute to deliver it,” stated Devon’s president and CEO,
its overall emissions reduction strategy. For Rick Muncrief.™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 25 24•June•2021