Covington-based LLOG has started pumping oil from its Buckskin Project in the deepwater of the Gulf of Mexico. The Buckskin field is almost 200 miles south of New Orleans. The well is drilled in Keathley Canyon, an undersea deepwater canyon more 68-hundred feet below the surface of the Gulf. Drilling of two wells commenced in 2018 and proceeded down more than 29-thousand feet, the height of Mt. Everest, before striking oil.
Since then LLOG has worked with its partner oil firms to connect the wells to a subsea pipeline in place a six miles away. The work was completed ahead of schedule and now pumping has commenced. Philip LeJeune, LLOG President and Chief Executive Officer commented, “The initiation of production at Buckskin marks a significant milestone for LLOG considering the scope of the field and its position as our first deepwater development."
The wells are expected to pump 30-thousand barrels-a-day initally. LLOG estimates there is nearly 5-billion barrels of oil in the field. As the largest stakeholder in the project, LLOG plans to fully develop the field through additional phases of development. The field was discovered over ten years ago by Spanish oil company Repsol. Repsol and three other firms own a stake in the field along with LLOG. The two wells drilled at Buckskin are part of a number of new wells LLOG is also involved in developing.
LLOG Exploration, founded in 1977, is one of the largest privately-owned exploration and production companies in the United States.