Hess Corporation yesterday, April 9, 2015, hosted a bipartisan congressional delegation to its Tubular Bells oil and gas production facility, located in the Mississippi Canyon area of the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
“Tubular Bells demonstrates Hess’ capability to safely and successfully execute highly complex, deepwater development projects,” said Brian Truelove , senior vice president, Offshore at Hess. “We are proud to give this bipartisan Congressional Delegation an in-depth tour of our facility, which was the first classic spar built in the United States, creating an estimated 7,000 direct and indirect jobs in Texas and Louisiana.”
“Since August 2008, I have taken Members of Congress to the Gulf of Mexico every year to experience first-hand how American energy is safely produced,” Rep. Steve Scalise (LA-01) said. “I am excited to have this bipartisan Congressional Delegation visit Tubular Bells to witness the cutting-edge technologies, unparalleled safety standards, and world-renowned ingenuity used in implementing these large-scale energy projects. Offshore energy production is vital to strengthening our national security, growing a healthy economy, and supplying an important source of revenue to restore Louisiana’s coastline, and I sincerely thank Hess Corporation for hosting us for the 2015 Offshore Energy Tour.”
The Delegation joining Rep. Scalise includes the following members of Congress: Rep Larry Buchson (IN-08), Rep. Buddy Carter (GA-01), Rep. Barbara Comstock (VA-10), Rep. Paul Cook (CA-08), Rep. Gene Green (TX-29), Rep. Tim Walberg (MI-07), Rep. Mimi Walters (CA-45), and Rep. Ryan Zinke (MT-00).
The Tubular Bells Field was discovered in 2003 and the development was sanctioned in October 2011. Tubular Bells started production in November 2014, just three years after sanction. It lies in approximately 4,300 feet of water, 135 miles southeast of New Orleans.
Net production from Tubular Bells is expected to average 30,000–35,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day over 2015. Hess holds a 57.14 percent interest in the Tubular Bells Field and is the operator. Chevron U.S.A. Inc. has a 42.86 percent interest.
The Deepwater Gulf of Mexico is a key offshore focus area for Hess. The company has been active there for almost 25 years, with net production anticipated to total more than 80,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2015 from 11 fields. In addition, Hess is currently working on another deepwater project, Stampede, which was sanctioned by co-owners in October 2014. First production is expected in 2018. Hess has a 25 percent working interest in the project and is operator.