By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Jan. 19 -- Production started at the BP PLC-operated Mad Dog development on Green Canyon Block 826 in 4,500 ft of water 220 miles south of New Orleans in the Gulf of Mexico.
Oil and natural gas production began Jan. 13 from one well. Production will ramp up to full capacity in the next year as more wells are completed and brought on line, a BP spokesman said. The facility's processing capability is 100,000 b/d of oil and 60 MMcfd of gas.
The Mad Dog development contains a truss spar, equipped with facilities for simultaneous production and drilling operations. Oil from Mad Dog will be transported via the Caesar pipeline to Ship Shoal 332B, where it will interconnect with the Cameron Highway Oil Pipeline System.
The gas will be exported via the Cleopatra pipeline to Ship Shoal 332A, where it will interconnect with Manta Ray Gathering System and from there to the Nautilus Gas Transportation System into Louisiana. The Caesar and Cleopatra pipelines are part of the BP-operated Mardi Gras Transportation System.
Mad Dog, discovered in 1998, is one of three world-class BP-operated gulf deepwater developments scheduled for start-up this year and in 2006.
BP, operator of Mad Dog, owns a 60.5% working interest in the project. BHP Billiton Ltd. and Unocal Corp. own a 23.9% and 15.6%, respectively.