Thunder Horse and Atlantis: The Development and Operation of Twin Giants in the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

Since their discovery in the late 1990s, Thunder Horse and Atlantis have shared many aspects of the journey from development concept to production operations. These include significant project challenges in subsea and topsides, substantial preparation for production operations, and resounding success during production ramp-up and early operations. This paper will outline some of the similarities and key differences between the two, and emphasize the shared ingredients for success despite the frontier environment of the fields. Thunder Horse and Atlantis are both giant oil and gas fields and together produce more than 400 mboed, about 10% of BP's global production and about 6% of the U.S.'s oil production, producing through semi-submersible facilities that are respectively the biggest and the deepest moored in the world. Despite the frontier nature of the developments, and several major challenges encountered and shared by the two projects, both have been delivered and are performing at world class levels of efficiency, with long sustained futures ahead of them. The experience of the journey of these twin giants from discovery to world class operating assets holds several key lessons for megaprojects of the future, particularly in the challenging conditions of deep water.