Chevron starts oil and gas production on Ballymore project in US Gulf

Chevron has begun production of oil and natural gas from three deepwater wells in the US Gulf in its Ballymore project. The wells are tied back 5 km to the floating production unit (FPU) Blind Faith.

Sanctioned in 2022, the US$1.6Bn Ballymore project is Chevron’s first development in the Norphlet trend. The field is located in Mississippi Canyon Block 607 in around 2000 m of water, about 260 km southeast of New Orleans, Louisiana. Potentially recoverable volumes are estimated at more than 150M barrels of oil equivalent (boe) over the lifespan of the project. Chevron subsidiary Chevron USA operates the project and holds a 60% working interest, with TotalEnergies holding the remaining 40% interest.

“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,” Chevron Gulf of America vice president Brent Gros said.

Chevron has a stated goal to produce 300,000 barrels per day of oil equivalent from the US Gulf in 2026. Ballymore is expected to produce up to 75,000 barrels of oil per day, according to Chevron.

Since the middle of 2024, Chevron has started production from its industry-first Anchor project and non-operated Whale project and commenced water injection to boost output at its operated Tahiti and Jack/St Malo facilities.

News of Chevron’s production startup at Ballymore came shortly after the US DOI’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) said it has taken the first step in expanding offshore oil and gas exploration in US waters.

The DOI directed the BOEM to open a 45-day public comment period for development of a five-year plan for offshore oil and gas lease sales on the US Outer Continental Shelf.