BP announces start of production from Quad 204 project, west of Shetland

UK project is the third of seven new upstream major projects expected to come on stream for BP in 2017.

BP, on behalf of co-venturers Shell and Siccar Point Energy, is pleased to announce first oil from the redeveloped Schiehallion Area, following completion of the multi-billion-pound Quad 204 project in the west of Shetland region, offshore UK.

Schiehallion and the adjacent Loyal fields were first developed in the mid-1990s and have produced nearly 400 million barrels of oil since production started in 1998. With the fields’ redevelopment through the Quad 204 project, BP and co-venturers expect to unlock a further estimated 450 million barrels of resources, extending the life of the fields out to 2035 and beyond. Production from the project is expected to ramp up through the remainder of 2017 to a plateau level of 130,000 barrels of oil per day.

The project has included the construction and installation of the world’s largest harsh water floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel - the ‘Glen Lyon’ -a major upgrade and replacement of subsea facilities and a continuous drilling programme of up to 20 new wells to enable the full development of the reserves.

BP is planning to double its UK North Sea production to 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day (boe/d) by 2020 and sustain a material business in the region for several decades. Production from the new Clair Ridge major project is expected next year. Over the next 18 months, BP plans to participate in up to five exploration wells in the UK, in addition to drilling approximately 50 development wells over the next 3-4 years.

Quad 204 is the third of seven Upstream major projects BP expects to bring online in 2017, following the earlier start-ups of the Trinidad onshore compression project and the Taurus/Libra development of the West Nile Delta project in Egypt. New projects starting up through 2016 and 2017 are expected to deliver 500,000 boe/d net new production capacity for BP by the end of this year. With further projects beginning production through to the end of the decade, BP expects approximately 800,000 boe/d production from new projects by 2020.

Bob Dudley, BP Group Chief Executive, said: “The start of production from Quad 204 - one of the largest recent investments in the UK - is an important milestone for BP, marking a return to growth for our North Sea business. As one of the series of important, higher-margin major projects that are now steadily coming on line for BP, it also underpins our expectation for growing production and cash flows from our Upstream business over the coming few years.”

Mark Thomas, Regional President for BP’s North Sea business, said: “In safely delivering first oil from the Quad 204 project, we have succeeded in one of the largest ever UK mid-life offshore redevelopments. BP has developed a strong track record of finding, developing and operating big offshore oil resources west of Shetland - we have and will continue to use the latest technology to maximise recovery from the Schiehallion Area.”

Since the Quad 204 project was sanctioned in 2011, over £2 billion of contracts have been awarded to UK companies.

Further information

Contacts

BP North Sea Press Office, 07917 307430

BP London Press Office, 0207 496 4076, bppress@bp.com

Notes to editors

Ownership

• Glen Lyon FPSO: BP is operator with 36% interest; co-venturers Shell 54%, and Siccar Point Energy 10%
• Schiehallion field: BP 33%; Shell 55%, Siccar Point Energy 12%
• Loyal field: BP 50%, Shell 50%

Glen Lyon FPSO

• Capable of processing and exporting up to 130,000 barrels of oil a day and storing up to 800,000 barrels of oil.
• 270 metres long by 52 metres wide, weighs around 100,000 tonnes and accommodates up to 140 people
• Anchored to the seabed via a turret mooring system allowing the FPSO to rotate and position head to the prevailing environment.
• Moored by 20 mooring lines, each almost a mile (1.6km) in length.

Subsea system

• Work scope has taken more than 3,000 construction vessel days over five years to complete.
• With seven new production system manifolds, the overall subsea system capacity has been expanded beyond 75 wells.
• 21 new subsea risers connect the FPSO to subsea, including 15 new production risers, 3 gas risers and 3 water injection risers. The 15 production risers are connected to the 15 production flowlines (totalling 55km in length). Gas risers and water injection risers are connected to existing infrastructure.

Deepsea Aberdeen drilling rig

• The new state-of-the-art drilling rig is contracted to drill wells across the Schiehallion Area as part of a seven-year drilling campaign. Click here for previous press release.
• Eight new development wells were drilled and completed prior to start up

Cautionary statement

In order to utilize the ‘safe harbor’ provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the ‘PSLRA’), BP is providing the following cautionary statement. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning BP’s plans and expectations with respect to the Quad 204 project, including expectations of a further estimated 450 million barrels of resources, that the life of the fields will be extended to 2035 and beyond and that production will reach 130,000 barrels of oil per day by the end of 2017; plans and expectations related to BP’s upstream business including plans to bring online seven upstream projects with 500,000 barrels equivalent per day by the end of 2017 and for new projects to add 800,000 barrels equivalent per day by the end of the decade; plans related to BP’s UK North Sea business including the doubling of UK North Sea production to 200,000 barrels equivalent per day by 2020 and expectations for production from the Clair Ridge major project next year; plans to participate in up to five exploration wells in the UK over the next 18 months; and plans to drill approximately 50 development wells over the next 3 to 4 years. Actual results may differ from those expressed in such statements, depending on a variety of factors including changes in public expectations and other changes to business conditions; the timing, quantum and nature of divestments; the receipt of relevant third-party and/or regulatory approvals; future levels of industry product supply; demand and pricing; OPEC quota restrictions; PSA effects; operational problems; regulatory or legal actions; economic and financial conditions generally or in various countries and regions; political stability and economic growth in relevant areas of the world; changes in laws and governmental regulations; exchange rate fluctuations; development and use of new technology; the success or otherwise of partnering; the actions of competitors, trading partners and others; natural disasters and adverse weather conditions; wars and acts of terrorism, cyber-attacks or sabotage; and other factors discussed under “Risk factors” in our Annual Report and Form 20-F 2016.

This press release contains references to non-proved resources and production outlooks based on non-proved resources that the SEC's rules prohibit us from including in our filings with the SEC. U.S. investors are urged to consider closely the disclosures in our Form 20-F, SEC File No. 1-06262. This form is available on our website at www.bp.com. You can also obtain this form from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330 or by logging on to their website at www.sec.gov