The Trump administration has approved bp’s plan to pump billions of dollars’ worth of crude from what will be the company’s first virgin field development in the Gulf of America since the deadly 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.
bp's deepwater Kaskida project is scheduled to start crude production in 2029. In its initial phase, the development is expected to produce the equivalent of about 275 MMbbl from a section of the seafloor estimated to hold as much as 10 billion barrels.
The Department of Interior’s approval of Kaskida comes despite objections from environmental groups and Democratic lawmakers, who warn another Deepwater Horizon-like catastrophe could threaten Gulf Coast communities cand ecosystems while encouraging more ultra-deepwater drilling.
bp has said “the safety of our people and the environment will remain our highest priority.”
“Kaskida is a world-class project that reflects decades of technological innovation by bp and the offshore oil and gas industry,” a company spokesperson wrote in an email.
“This investment will safely bring online more American energy by helping to unlock 10 billion barrels of discovered bp resources in the Gulf of America’s Paleogene fields.”
The Kaskida find has remained largely undeveloped since its discovery almost 20 years ago because the oil industry lacked technology capable of managing the field’s high pressure and forbidding geology.
bp wins key approval for Kaskida deepwater project in US Gulf
