The well, drilled by BHP Billiton on behalf of the unit operator BP, is located on Gulf of Mexico Green Canyon block 738 approximately 140 miles (225 kilometers) south of Grand Isle, LA., in about 4,500 feet (1,371 meters) of water. The well encountered about 166 net feet (50 meters) of hydrocarbons in the objective Miocene hydrocarbon-bearing sands and discovered an oil column of more than 300 feet (91 meters).

With these additional hydrocarbon resources north of the main field, Mad Dog has been firmly established as a giant field in BP’s Gulf of Mexico portfolio, rivalling Thunder Horse in size of resource.

—Bob Dudley, BP group chief executive

BP maintains a 60.5% working interest in Mad Dog. BHP Billiton has a 23.9% interest, Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiary Union Oil Company of California, has a 15.6% interest.

Mad Dog field development originally was designed to utilize a truss spar platform, equipped with facilities for simultaneous production and drilling operations. The facility was designed to process 80,000 barrels of oil and 60 million cubic feet of gas per day. Oil and gas are transported to existing shelf infrastructure via the BP-operated Caesar (oil) pipeline and Cleopatra (gas) pipeline systems.

Due to the materiality of the Mad Dog South finds in 2009, BP has been advancing development options to increase production from Mad Dog by adding another spar production facility with a production capacity of 120,000–140,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed).

Coupled with the recent exploration success at the discovery at the Moccasin prospect, located in Keathley Canyon, the Mad Dog result re-emphasizes the exploration and development potential of the Gulf of Mexico and the region’s ability to continue to deliver material projects for BP.

—Bob Dudley

On 6 Sept., Chevron Corporation announced the Moccasin discovery in the Lower Tertiary play on Keathley Canyon block 736. (Earlier post.) BP has a 43.75% working interest in the Moccasin prospect. The prospect is operated by Chevron USA Inc., also with a 43.75% interest, and the co-owner is Samson Offshore Company with 12.5% interest.

BP is one of the largest producers of oil and gas in the US Gulf of Mexico with net production of more than 250,000 boed. BP is progressing eleven Gulf of Mexico projects: Atlantis Phases 2 and 3, Kaskida, Mars B, Galapagos, Na Kika Phases 3 and 4, Freedom, Mad Dog Phase 2, Mad Dog North and Tiber.

Major BP developments in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico include: Pompano, 1994; Marlin, 2000; Horn Mountain, 2002; Na Kika, 2003; Holstein, 2004; Mad Dog, 2005, Atlantis, 2007, Thunder Horse, 2008.