Chevron (CVX) has started production from the Anchor project in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico using new offshore technology for high-pressure reservoirs. Crude oil produced from Anchor is set to lift volumes for several Gulf Coast pipelines, according to East Daley’s Crude Hub Model.
The Anchor project includes a semi-submersible floating production unit in water depths of 5,000 feet in the Green Canyon area, located ~140 miles offshore southeastern Louisiana. Operator CVX (62.9%) and TotalEnergy (37.1%) started the first platform in August using new technology to produce from deeper, high-pressure offshore fields. Anchor is rated to handle flows at pressures of up to 20,000 psi and reach targets up to 34,000 feet under the surface, CVX said.
Anchor has a design capacity to produce up to 75 Mb/d of crude oil and 28 MMcf/d of natural gas. The partners plan to drill seven subsea wells. The Anchor field has up to 440 MMboe of recoverable reserves, CVX said.
Crude oil from the Anchor project can grow volumes for several on- and offshore systems we track in the Crude Hub Model. Much of the oil produced will move on Amberjack Pipeline (500 Mb/d capacity) owned by CVX and Shell. Crude flowing through Amberjack travels to Mars Pipeline (600 Mb/d), which can then deliver to the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) and on to the St. James, LA refinery hub. Mars can also deliver to a Chevron pipeline that connects to Empire, LA. Many of those barrels travel to the Pascagoula refinery in Mississippi on the Cal-KY pipeline.
Based on the Crude Hub Model and SONRIS data, we expect Amberjack Pipeline utilization to remain flat at ~75% for the rest of 2024. Mars Pipeline utilization is also forecast to hold at around 55% for the remainder of 2024. LOOP import utilization is low at around 7%, while utilization for the Chevron pipeline to Empire holds at ~85% through YE24. Based on our model, we see plenty of room to move new production to Gulf Coast markets.
Considering that much of the oil from Anchor will end up on LOOP, refineries in St. James and the Pascagoula refinery stand to benefit from more options to pick up barrels. However, we don’t expect the new crude production to increase exports on LOOP (see the August 28 Crude Oil Edge for more information). – Haley Vinton Tickers: CVX, SEL.
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