Thunder Horse up and running
State-of-the-art oil and gas platform Thunder Horse in the Gulf of Mexico has finally gone into production for BP.
The platform, which is set to be the Gulf 's biggest single facility, pumping 250,000 barrels of oil and 200 million cubic feet of gas a day when it is at full tilt, produced its first hydrocarbons on Saturday, the oil giant said today.
Thunder Horse was knocked out of action during the big hurricane season of 2005. Its continued inaction has been seen as part of a deeper malaise at BP, where Tony Hayward, chief executive for the past year, has been charged with turning round the supermajor.
BP, meanwhile, continued with the mud-slinging in the poisonous war of words over the future of its troubled strategic Russian joint venture TNK-BP.
Tim Summers, chief operating officer of TNK-BP, openly contradicted shareholding oligarch Mikhail Fridman, who had accused Summers and his boss Bob Dudley of mismanagement.
Summers today said TNK-BP was among the two best-run oil companies in Russia, making returns of up to 45% for its shareholders.
BP fears the Kremlin is plotting a Russian takeover of TNK-BP.
