Energy giant TotalEnergies announced yesterday, from its Paris headquarters, the commencement of production at the significant Ballymore deepwater oil and gas field located offshore Louisiana in the United States. The project, in which TotalEnergies holds a substantial 40% working interest, is operated by Chevron, which holds the remaining 60%.

The Ballymore field, situated approximately 120 kilometers (75 miles) off the Louisiana coastline in the prolific U.S. Gulf of Mexico, reached its first oil milestone less than three years after the project was sanctioned in May 2022.

The field boasts an impressive total daily gross production capacity of 75,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) and 50 million cubic feet of natural gas per day (MMcf/d). Once production stabilizes at its plateau, Ballymore is projected to contribute a net production of approximately 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) to TotalEnergies' overall output. This significant addition is expected to be highly cash-accretive for the company.

A key aspect of the Ballymore development is its tie-back to the Chevron-operated Blind Faith floating production unit (FPU). This approach leverages existing infrastructure in the deepwater region, significantly reducing development costs and minimizing the project's environmental footprint by lowering its emission intensity. The focus on standardized equipment further contributed to streamlining the project timeline and optimizing capital expenditure.

Nicolas Terraz, President of Exploration & Production at TotalEnergies, expressed his enthusiasm about the project's successful start-up. "The start-up of Ballymore will increase TotalEnergies’ production capacity in U.S. deepwater to more than 75,000 boe/d and contribute to the Company’s targeted hydrocarbon production growth of over 3% in 2025," he stated. He further emphasized the strategic importance of the United States for TotalEnergies' broader energy strategy, noting that "The United States is a major market for the deployment of our integrated energy model, which combines low breakeven and low emissions oil and gas projects with LNG and integrated power developments."

“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, Chevron Gulf of America. “Ballymore, which was completed on time and on budget, brings additional production online without building a new standalone offshore platform. This reduces our development costs and is expected to drive higher returns for shareholders.”