Anchor field startup offers hope of new play in the GoM

Chevron’s achievement of first oil from the deepwater Anchor Field in the US Gulf of Mexico (GoM) represents a major technological achievement, according to Wood Mackenzie.
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Aug. 14, 2024
2 min read
Courtesy Chevron
Chevron's new Anchor facility has a design capacity of 75,000 bbl/d of oil and 28 MMcf/d of natural gas. The FPU area is 42,080 sq ft and 25 stories high (taller than the statue of liberty).
Chevron's new Anchor facility has a design capacity of 75,000 bbl/d of oil and 28 MMcf/d of natural gas. The FPU area is 42,080 sq ft and 25 stories high (taller than the statue of liberty).
Courtesy Chevron
Chevron's Anchor project
Chevron's Anchor project

Chevron’s achievement of first oil from the deepwater Anchor Field in the US Gulf of Mexico (GoM) represents a major technological achievement, according to Wood Mackenzie.

Mfon Usoro, principal analyst, said the startup was a culmination of a decade-long effort from operators, service companies and regulators to enable deployment of the ultra-high-pressure technology.

At the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) earlier this year in Houston, Chevron's Tim Mitchell, Anchor Project Director, provided an update on the project, and shared lessons learned and best practices that helped project teams successfully plan and execute this milestone project in the deepwater GoM. The project teams were faced with an “adaptive challenge” to enable the 20k technology under such circumstances – to qualify the equipment, obtain regulatory approvals, and move the technology forward from prototype to production within “a cost and schedule that would deliver our overall business objectives.”

"Chevron is leading the way to unlock ultra-high-pressure reservoirs in the Inboard Paleogene, which have never been produced…," Usoro said. "Wood Mackenzie estimates that more than 2 Bboe could be unlocked as US GoM companies continue to advance the commercialization of discoveries in the frontier play."

Production from the Inboard Paleogene could even permanently change the landscape in the US GoM, Usoro suggested, with operators expecting individual wells to recover at least 30 MMboe.

Chevron expects Anchor to produce for up to 30 years. 

“Success in the play could extend the life of the basin," Usoro added. "However, if results fall short, it could mark the beginning of production decline in the basin and a blow to a resurgence in exploration for additional barrels in the play.”

Chevron sanctioned the $5.7 billion Anchor project in late 2019, which the comapny boasted at the time marked the industry’s first deepwater high-pressure development to achieve a final investment decision.

Chevron U.S.A. Inc. is the operator (62.86% interest), along with partner/co-owner TotalEnergies E&P USA Inc. (37.14% working interest).

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