BP starts up Thunderhorse South Expansion 11 months ahead of schedule

(ShareCast News) - BP started up its Thunder Horse South Expansion in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of schedule and under budget, with the latter being the result of its use of standardised equipment instead of customised components.It was expected to be the first of several major upstream start-ups scheduled for 2017 and marked "a major step" towards meeting the oil major´s target of bringing the 800,000 barrels a day of new capacity onstream by 2020, the company said in a statement.The expansion was completed $150.0m - more than 15% - under budget and 11 months ahead of schedule, with the first new well for the project yielding the biggest amount of hydrocarbon bearing sand seen to date at the Thunder Horse field, confirming over 500 feet of net pay."Thunder Horse South Expansion - along with our recent approval of the $9bn Mad Dog Phase 2 platform -- demonstrates that the U.S. Gulf of Mexico remains a key part of our global portfolio today and for many years to come," said BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley."These new projects, coupled with a series of recent agreements we've reached around the world, reflect the growing momentum across BP and clear progress in building a strong foundation for the future."The Thunder Horse South Expansion project consisted of a collection point for wells connected to the main Thuder Horse platform via two 11,000-foot long flowlines.It was located two miles south of the existing Thunder Horse platform, which sat in more than 6,000 feet of water and had begun pumping in June 2008, with the capacity to handle 250,000 gross barrels of oil and 200.0m gross cubic feet per day of natural gas.Shares of BP ended the session lower by 2.24% to 487.2p.