BP Announces Oil Find in Deepwater US Gulf

In a statement posted on its website on Monday, BP announced “an oil discovery at the Far South prospect in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of America”.

BP noted in the statement that it drilled the exploration well in Green Canyon Block 584. It highlighted that the well was drilled to a total depth of 23,830 feet.

Both the initial well and a subsequent sidetrack encountered oil in high-quality Miocene reservoirs, according to BP, which said in the statement that “preliminary data supports a potentially commercial volume of hydrocarbons”. Rigzone has asked BP for a specific figure, and if BP plans on drilling any more exploration wells in the Gulf this year. At the time of writing, the company has not yet responded to Rigzone.

“This discovery in the deepwater Gulf of America underscores how BP is in action to step up investment in exploration and strengthen its upstream portfolio under the strategy reset announced in February 2025,” the company said in its statement.

BP noted in the statement that it expects to grow its global upstream production to 2.3 - 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2030, “with the capacity to increase production out to 2035”. Around one million barrels of oil equivalent per day are expected to be delivered from the U.S. onshore and offshore regions by 2030, according to the statement.

BP also highlighted in its statement that it has made over 40 discoveries in the last decade and said it is ramping up its exploration program, “with around 40 wells planned over the next three years, with 10-15 of those to be drilled in 2025”.

Andy Krieger, Senior Vice President, Gulf of America and Canada, said in the BP statement, “this Far South discovery demonstrates that the Gulf of America remains an area of incredible growth and opportunity for BP”.

“Our Gulf of America business is central to BP’s strategy. We are focused on delivering more affordable and reliable energy from this region, building our capacity to over 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by the end of the decade,” he added.

The Far South co-owners are BP, which has an operated interest of 57.5 percent, and Chevron U.S.A. Inc, which has a 42.5 percent interest. At the time of writing, Chevron has made no mention of the discovery on its website.

In a release posted on its site last month, BP revealed another discovery offshore Egypt. In a release sent to Rigzone by the BP team in February, BP revealed that it had made a separate discovery offshore Egypt.

In a statement posted on its website in February, BP announced a “fundamentally reset strategy”. This strategy will see BP grow its upstream oil and gas business, focus its downstream business, and invest with increasing discipline into the transition, the company noted in that statement.

Earlier this month, BP announced in a statement posted on its site that BP Trinidad and Tobago confirmed its Cypre development had “safely delivered its first gas”. In that statement, BP said Cypre is one of its 10 major projects expected to start up worldwide between 2025 and 2027, “announced as part of BP’s reset strategy to grow the upstream”. 

BP noted in the statement that production from Cypre will make a significant contribution towards the 250,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day combined peak net production expected from these 10 projects.  

U.S. President Donald Trump gave a directive to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America in an executive order issued on January 20, which was published on the White House website.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com