Hess Corp. and partners are moving closer to first oil for their multibillion-dollar Stampede development in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GoM).

The project is running ahead of schedule and under budget, according to Hess President and COO Greg Hill during the company’s third-quarter earnings call. Production facilities for the deepwater oil and gas field, which has a reservoir depth of about 9,144 m (30,000 ft) with a water depth of about 1,067 m (3,500 ft), consists of subsea production and injection wells tied back to a tension-leg platform.

“All pipeline precommissioning was completed during the third quarter. Three wells have been drilled and completed, and first oil is now expected to be achieved during the first quarter of 2018, which is six months ahead of schedule and well below budget,” Hill said.

He later singled out the drilling side in particular, saying “We’re 15-20% below AFE [authorization for expenditure] on the drilling side, so that’s going extremely well.”

Hill added that the industry is learning that wells need to be ramped up slowly and carefully in the GoM.

“So we don’t expect to reach our peak at Stampede until 2019,” he said.

The current development plans calls for six producers and four water injectors.

Gross recoverable reserves for Stampede are estimated at between 300 MMboe to 350 MMboe, according to the company’s website.

Hess, which serves as operator, has a 25% working interest in the project. Partners are Chevron subsidiary Union Oil Co. of California, Statoil and Nexen Petroleum Offshore U.S.A., each holding a 25% working interest.

The field, which was discovered in 2005, spans several blocks in the GoM’s Green Canyon area.

—Velda Addison

Offshore