As first oil gushes out of Gulf of America FPU, production ramp-up coming next quarter

September 29, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

U.S.-headquartered privately owned exploration and production company LLOG Exploration has brought online a deepwater project in the Gulf of America (Gulf of Mexico) using a refurbished floating production unit (FPU). The firm plans to step up its oil production game at this project in the fourth quarter of 2025.

LLOG Exploration has confirmed the first production at its FPU Salamanca in Keathley Canyon 689, located in a water depth of approximately 6,400 feet, in the deepwater Gulf of America. The firm is the operator of the FPU, as well as the Leon and Castile discoveries, with Repsol and O.G. Oil & Gas as non-operating working interest owners.

Philip Lejeune, Chief Executive Officer and President of LLOG, commented: “LLOG is very pleased to have recently initiated production at the Salamanca FPU with a well from the Leon field. Production will continue to ramp up as we add additional producing wells from both the Leon and Castile fields. As part of our long history of success and innovation, we look to integrate the latest technology and ideas into the development of new fields.

“The unique aspect of the Salamanca facility is that the FPU is the first refurbishment of a GOA facility that was in production and was successfully brought into commerce as a producing asset again. By modifying a previously built production unit compared with constructing a new facility, we are able to significantly reduce the time to bring these discoveries online.”

US oil & gas player gets cracking on development studies as two out of three Gulf of Mexico wells yield hydrocarbons

Exploration & Production

While initial production has now begun from the first well, previously drilled and completed at the Leon field, the second and third wells are forecasted to come online in Q4 2025, representing the initial producing well from the Castile field and an additional Leon well.

The operator claims that the third well from the second field, expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026, will be followed by another well at the Castile field, which is planned for 2026.

The U.S. player entered the Leon field as the operator in 2019 through an agreement with Repsol that also brought the company into the Castile field to accelerate plans and optimize the economics of developing both discoveries.

After the company opted to reuse what was previously the world’s deepest floating production platform to develop the two fields, the firm bought the old Independence Hub platform from Genesis Energy with plans to refurbish it and turn it into an FPU named Salamanca.

Multiple players have been hired to work on this project, including Trendsetter Engineering, Subsea7, Audubon, and ABL. The FPU Salamanca has a capacity of 60,000 barrels of oil per day and 40 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.

Lejeune underscored: “As important, the project has a significantly positive environmental impact as it reuses an existing unit compared with abandonment of the unit, while also accomplishing approximately an 87% reduction in emissions impact compared to the construction of a new unit.

“The other aspect is that the major construction for this project has been undertaken in shipyards and construction yards in Texas and Louisiana versus occurring internationally. This is another example of LLOG’s proven ability to meet the challenges of operating in the deepwater GOA and deliver a world-class facility that will help to meet the growing energy needs of our country.”