Texas

Our onshore oil and gas business, bpx energy, is investing $1.3 billion into its assets in Texas’s Permian Basin. Our first centralized facility operating here, Grand Slam, is bpx energy’s largest infrastructure investment to date. Our second centralized facility, Bingo, is on track for completion in summer 2023. bpx is also investing in electrification in the Permian – building an electrical substation network large enough to power nearly all the residential homes in the Austin area – 400 MW capacity now on our way to 800 MW installed by 2025.

Houston is home to bp’s US headquarters. In 2019, the company completed a $100 million investment to upgrade its Westlake offices, a major renovation project that fueled local jobs in the Houston area. Additionally, bp’s Gulf of Mexico business, bp pulse fleet and wind energy business are all based in Houston. 

 

As one of the Gulf of Mexico’s largest leaseholders, bp operates four massive gulf production platforms (Atlantis, Na Kika, Thunder Horse and Mad Dog). bp’s next wave of growth is underpinned by several new major projects already underway. 

 

The Herschel Expansion project is bp’s newest addition to the Gulf of Mexico. Phase 1 comprises development of a new subsea production system and the first of up to three wells tied to the Na Kika platform. At its peak, this first well is expected to increase platform annual gross production by an estimated 10,600 barrels of oil equivalent a day.

 

bp aims to increase production in the Gulf of Mexico from about 290,000 boe/d to around 400,000 boe/d by the mid-2020s.

 

Other high-tech Houston facilities include bp’s Remote Collaboration Center, providing around-the-clock support for deepwater well operations in the Gulf of Mexico, and the Center for High-Performance Computing (CHPC) — one of the world’s largest supercomputers for commercial research. CHPC advanced seismic imaging revealed an extra 1 billion barrels of oil in place at the Thunder Horse field and another 400 million at Atlantis.

In 2020, bp and the City of Houston agreed to work together to advance the City’s Climate Action Plan (CAP), a framework for making the Energy Capital of World carbon neutral by 2050. bp now serves as the strategic planning and technical advisor for the CAP, which includes providing bp staff experts at no cost to the city.

 

And together bp and Houston have made real progress. bp is enabling transport electrification in working with Uber to jointly develop and install high-speed EV charging hubs with a goal of providing fast charging to both ride-hailing and public EV users. Additionally, bp is creating opportunities for green tech innovation by sponsoring Greentown Labs and supporting the city’s efforts to position Houston as a hub for clean tech innovation.

 

Also in Houston is bp’s Wind Energy Remote Operations Center which centrally monitors all nine bp-operated wind farms — 24 hours a day, seven days a week — while working with colleagues in the field to enhance performance, reliability and safety.

 

Finally, bp is advancing solar energy projects across the US through its 50-50 joint partnership with Lightsource bp. Texas is home to two large Lightsource bp solar farms in, Elm Branch and Lamar counties.

 

At the Impact Solar farm in Lamar County, Lightsource bp is managing vegetation to support pollinator populations, establishing shelters for a variety of wildlife groups, protecting 50 acres of woodland habitat near the site and caring for more than 600 sheep that “mow the lawn” naturally.  

bp supports a wide range of non-profits and initiatives that help strengthen Texas communities, from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo to STEM education programs in local schools.