TotalEnergies to withdraw from North Platte deepwater project

TotalEnergies E&P USA Inc. will not sanction the North Platte deepwater project in the US Gulf of Mexico. The decision to withdraw from the project was taken as the company decided to allocate its capital to better opportunities within its global portfolio. 

North Platte field straddles four blocks of the Garden Banks area, 275 km off the coast of Louisiana in 1,300 m of water.

In 2020, Total E&P USA Inc. let a front-end engineering and design contract to Worley for the development (OGJ Online, Jan. 24, 2020). At the time, the operator said the reservoir was of high quality, both in porosity and permeability, with thickness in places exceeding 1,200 m and a development plan was based on eight subsea wells and two subsea drilling bases connected via two production loops to a newbuild, lightweight floating production unit (FPU). Oil production had been expected to average 75,000 b/d at plateau level.

TotalEnergies held a 60% operated interest in North Platte, alongside its joint-interest owner Equinor (40%). The company has duly notified its partner and relevant authorities of its immediate withdrawal from the project, and of its resignation as operator which will be effective following a short transition period to ensure an orderly hand-over of operatorship.