Chevron begins oil, gas production from deepwater Ballymore field in US Gulf

Chevron has begun oil and natural gas production from the deepwater Ballymore field in the US Gulf of Mexico, the company said April 21 -- the major's second large domestic offshore project to start up in 2025 and the first from the eastern Gulf's emerging Norphlet play.

Following the Shell-operated Whale project which flowed its first oil in January from a production hub in the western US Gulf, Ballymore -- which Chevron operates with 60% (Total holds 40%) -- is expected to produce up to 75,000 b/d of gross equivalent oil at peak, the company said in a statement. The Ballymore field is sited in about 6,600 feet of water.

Three wells are being tied back about three miles to the existing Chevron-operated Blind Faith production facility, which has been operating since 2008 in the lower Mississippi Canyon area located about 160 miles southeast of New Orleans in 7,000 feet of water.

"Ballymore is an example of how we are leveraging technology and driving efficiencies to help produce affordable, reliable energy from the deepwater Gulf of America, one of the lowest-carbon intensity oil and gas producing basins in the world," said Brent Gros, vice president of Chevron Gulf of America.

Reduced development costs

"Ballymore... brings additional production online without building a new standalone offshore platform," Gros said. "This reduces our development costs and is expected to drive higher returns for shareholders."

Ballymore is the latest of a series of Chevron deepwater US Gulf projects to begin production over the past year and represents another step towards the company's aim of producing 300,000 b/d net boe/d from that offshore arena in 2026, Chevron said.

Besides Whale, Chevon's operated and much-awaited Anchor project -- the industry's first ultra-deep, high-pressure (20,000 psi), high temperature field to begin production -- started up in August 2024. In addition, the company has started water injection to boost output at its operated Tahiti and Jack/St. Malo facilities, which came online in 2009 and 2014, respectively.

For the last few years, the company's US Gulf production has remained relatively steady at around 200,000 boe/d. In fourth-quarter 2024, it produced 191,000 boe/d from that offshore region.

Total estimated potentially recoverable resources at Ballymore are 150 million boe gross over Ballymore's life. The development is Chevron's first in the Norphlet trend of the Gulf, which Shell pioneered with its Appomattox field and assorted other US Civil War-themed fields. One of those, the Shell-operated, the smaller Dover field, came onstream in early April.

The Norphlet play in the US Gulf is a deepwater Upper Jurassic oil and gas play characterized by high-pressure sand dune reservoirs with good quality oil, whose reservoirs are found chiefly in the eastern Gulf's Mississippi Canyon and DeSoto Canyon areas in most areas offshore Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana.

In related US Gulf news, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum April 17 directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to take the first step in a public engagement process to develop a new schedule for future offshore oil and gas lease sales on the US Outer Continental Shelf.

BOEM will soon publish a Request for Information and Comments in the Federal Register on the preparation of the 11th National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program, which in turn will launch a 45-day public comment period and serve as the first step in a multiyear planning process, DOI said.

Will replace current 5-year lease program

Once finalized, the 11th National OCS Program will replace the current five-year 10th Program (2024–2029), which includes just three lease sales – all sited in the Gulf of Mexico. While BOEM continues work on those sales, development of the 11th Program will proceed concurrently, DOI said.

The RFI doesn't propose a specific timeline for lease sales or make early determinations on which areas may be included. Rather, it invites stakeholders to provide insight and recommendations for leasing, raise concerns and identify other existing issues that may be affected by offshore leasing.

"Through a transparent and inclusive public engagement process, we are reinforcing our commitment to responsible offshore energy development—driving job creation, bolstering economic growth and strengthening American energy independence," Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said.

The agency noted that BOEM's jurisdiction on the OCS has recently changed, and a new planning area offshore Alaska – the High Arctic – is being established as the 27th OCS planning area. In addition, boundaries of other existing planning areas are being updated to align with BOEM's revised jurisdiction.

Details on these changes will be included in a forthcoming Federal Register notice and posted to BOEM's website, DOI said.