OREANDA-NEWS. Statoil has decided to invest USD 1.5 billion in the Stampede development in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, which is expected to begin production in 2018. Statoil owns 25% of Stampede, which is operated by Hess.

Stampede, a new project named from unitizing the former discoveries of Knotty Head and Pony, is located approximately 350 kilometers (215 miles) from New Orleans, Louisiana at a water depth of more than 1,000 meters (3,500 feet). The reservoir depth is 9,100 meters (30,000 feet). Stampede consists of Green Canyon Blocks 468, 511 and 512.

Statoil estimates the reservoir contains approximately 350 million barrels of recoverable oil. Stampede's development plan calls for six subsea production wells and four water injection wells from two subsea drill centers tied back to a tension leg platform. Gross topsides processing capacity for the project is approximately 80,000 barrels of oil per day and 100,000 barrels of water injection capacity per day.

Jason Nye, senior vice president U.S. Offshore, Development & Production North America

"We're very pleased to see Stampede move forward toward production in 2018. This field has a long production life capable of generating a consistent high volume of valuable barrels," says Jason Nye, senior vice president of Statoil's U.S. offshore business.

Statoil's U.S. offshore business currently includes production from Caesar Tonga and Tahiti in the Gulf of Mexico. It also has a very attractive development portfolio with ownership in many of the largest fields in the area to start production over the next few years: Jack & St. Malo (25% and 21.5% ownership, respectively), Big Foot (27% ownership); Heidelberg (12%ownership), Julia (50% ownership) and Vito (30% ownership).

Statoil's co-owners in Stampede include Union Oil Company of California, a subsidiary of Chevron (25%), Hess (25%) and Nexen (25%). The total Stampede development is expected to cost USD 6 billion.

Statoil is an international energy company with operations in 36 countries. Building on 40 years of experience from oil and gas production on the Norwegian continental shelf, we are committed to accommodating the world's energy needs in a responsible manner, applying technology and creating innovative business solutions. We are headquartered in Stavanger, Norway, with approximately 23,000 employees worldwide, and are listed on the Oslo and New York stock exchanges.