SLB OneSubsea announced this week that it had been awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract by BP to provide a subsea boosting system for the Thunder Horse project in the US Gulf of Mexico.

Under the contract, SLB OneSubsea – a joint venture between SLB, Aker Solutions and Subsea7 – will deliver a subsea boosting system, along with associated project management, engineering, manufacturing and testing work.

The award of the contract follows other recent subsea boosting contracts given to SLB OneSubsea by BP, for the Kaskida and Tiber projects, also located in the Gulf, in 2024 and 2025 respectively. Kaskida is expected to enter production in 2029, with Tiber following in 2030. SLB OneSubsea said all three projects “leverage the same supplier-led, standardised subsea boosting system solution, which helps improve execution efficiency and shorten delivery times”.

“Subsea boosting is an important enabler for extending production from existing assets,” stated SLB OneSubsea’s CEO, Mads Hjelmeland. “Our standardised subsea solutions support faster deployment and improved efficiency, helping operators enhance production and recovery while optimising overall field performance.”

Thunder Horse is located around 150 miles (241 km) southeast of New Orleans, in water depths of around 6,050 feet (1,844 metres). It is BP’s largest platform in the deepwater Gulf. BP operates the project with a 75% interest, while ExxonMobil owns the remaining 25% stake.

According to BP’s website, Thunder Horse currently has the capacity to produce up to 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil. This capacity will be increased via the addition of subsea boosting.

The award of the contract to SLB OneSubsea comes after BP said in mid-May that together with ExxonMobil, it had recently taken a final investment decision (FID) on the new subsea pump project at Thunder Horse. The project is anticipated to produce first oil in 2028, adding around 15,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) of peak gross annual average output at the platform.

The addition of subsea boosting is expected to deliver production comparable to that from drilling up to two new wells, according to BP’s announcement. It is also anticipated to reduce pressure across the existing wells at Thunder Horse, thereby helping to extend the platform’s lifespan.