Operator Hess Corp. and partner Chevron Corp. reported the start of oil and gas production from their Tubular Bells development in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The project is expected to produce 50,000 boe/d from three wells.
Tubular Bells lies 135 miles southeast of New Orleans in 4,300 ft of water in the Mississippi Canyon area. The discovery well was drilled in 2003, and project construction began in October 2011.
The floating production facility, a classic spar hull with traditional three-level topsides, is producing from the Miocene trend. The field has an estimated production life of 25 years.
Interest in the Tubular Bells development is Hess 57.14% and Chevron 42.86%.
“Achieving first oil at Tubular Bells is an important step towards Chevron achieving its production goal of 3.1 million b/d by 2017,” said George Kirkland, Chevron vice-chairman and executive vice-president, upstream.
The Chevron-operated Jack-St. Malo project, a large Lower Tertiary development, is scheduled to come online later this year (OGJ Online, Mar. 13, 2014). The company also recently found oil on its Guadalupe prospect in the gulf (OGJ Online, Oct. 23, 2014).