First oil & gas flows from US Gulf deepwater project

July 28, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

Texas-based exploration and production player Beacon Offshore Energy has begun oil and natural gas production from a deepwater project connected to a floating production system (FPS) facility in the Gulf of America, formerly the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

FPS Shenandoah; Source: Navitas Petroleum

After a floating production system (FPS) for the Shenandoah project arrived in February 2025 from South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) shipyard, which was hired to handle the design, procurement, construction, and delivery of the FPS and its installation, the start-up of production was anticipated in the second quarter of 2025.

Beacon has now brought this project online by beginning production from the first of four producing wells on July 25, 2025. The company expects to ramp up output from Phase 1 wells during the third quarter, targeting aggregate deliverability of 100,000 bopd. Phase 2 entails two additional wells and a subsea booster pump, with the fifth producer anticipated to be drilled and completed by mid-2026.

Located at reservoir depths of approximately 30,000 feet true vertical depth, the Shenandoah reserves are being developed utilizing high-pressure 20,000 psi technology, which the operator expects to facilitate the development of other similarly situated fields in the Inboard Wilcox trend.

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The Shenandoah FPS, situated on Walker Ridge 52, approximately 150 miles off the coast of Louisiana in a water depth of around 5,800 feet, has been placed into service with a nameplate capacity of 120,000 bopd and 140 mmcfd.

This unit has been designed as a regional host facility that will enable the development of additional resources, including the Beacon-operated Monument and Shenandoah South discoveries, which, together with Shenandoah, are expected to hold recoverable resources of nearly 600 million boe.

Commenting on this, Scott Gutterman, Beacon’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated: “The Shenandoah first production milestone demonstrates Beacon’s ability to safely deliver industry leading developments in a cost-effective fashion.

“I would like to personally congratulate and thank our employees, contractors, and vendors for their tenacity, dedication, and technical expertise in delivering this important project. We further appreciate the shared vision and support from our partners, Navitas and HEQ, as well as our capital providers.”

The U.S. player has confirmed the sanctioning of the development of the Shenandoah South discovery in Walker Ridge 95 in water depths ranging from 5,800 to 6,000 feet, which will be tied back to the Shenandoah FPS thanks to the field’s proximity. Beacon is partnering with Houston Energy, HEQ Deepwater, and Navitas Petroleum in the Shenandoah South development.

Described as a cost-efficient subsea tie-back development to be accomplished via a three-mile flowline and dedicated riser connection to the Shenandoah FPS, Shenandoah South is envisioned to include the drilling and completion of two wells, with initial production from the first well targeted to occur in Q2 2028.

The project is estimated to contain 74 million boe 2P resources. The firm currently holds working interests in 87 deepwater leases covering nearly 500,000 gross acres.