*

New rules add some specific equipment and reporting

requirements

Applies to projects with more than 15,000 PSI, or more than 350F

*

Regulators expect rise in ultra-high pressure projects

*

BP awards SLB a key contract for ultra-high pressure

Kaskida

project

By Georgina McCartney

HOUSTON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - The Bureau of Safety and

Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) rolled out new rules for U.S.

offshore drillers on Tuesday, as breakthrough technology enables

them to operate under extreme subsea pressures and unlock

billions in untapped oil reserves.

BSEE's final rule comes after Chevron ( CVX ) in August

started production at its Anchor asset, owned with TotalEnergies

, which was the first ever project to operate at 20,000

pounds per square inch (PSI) of pressure, reaching reservoir

depths of 34,000 feet (10,363 m).

The new technology could unlock some 5 billion barrels of

previously inaccessible crude globally, or about 50 days of

current production, analysts have said, but some safety concerns

have loomed.

British oil major BP was drilling at 15,000 PSI

when a blowout on its

Deepwater Horizon

project killed 11 workers and spilled 3.19 million barrels

of oil into the U.S. Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

BSEE's final rules apply to projects with more than

15,000 PSI, or temperatures of more than 350 degrees Fahrenheit

(177°C).

They add some specific equipment and reporting

requirements on new technology projects, and in some cases will

require third parties to review some information before

submission to BSEE, for projects that will operate offshore in

high pressure, high temperature conditions.

"Historically, most oilfield equipment has not been

designed to withstand such high pressures and temperatures,"

BSEE's final rule reads. "High-pressure, high

temperature-associated operations require the use of equipment

that exists at the limits of current technology and lacks a long

operational history."

The latest regulations aim to improve safety and clarity to

the industry as it expects the number of ultra-high pressure

projects to increase.

BP early next year will begin ultra-high pressure drilling

of 20,000 PSI at its Kaskida field in the Gulf of Mexico. The

oil major on Tuesday awarded oilfield services firm SLB

a contract for a subsea boosting system for the project.

BP greenlighted the Kaskida project in July. The field,

which was discovered twenty years ago before the new

high-pressure technology existed, has an estimated 10 billion

barrels in reserves.

The Gulf of Mexico production accounts for about 14% of U.S.

oil output, and will reach 1.88 million barrels per day by the

end of 2025, compared with 1.63 million bpd as of September,

according to the Energy Information Administration.

Chevron's ( CVX ) Anchor production is expected to hit around 15,000

bpd by the end of the year and rise to 45,000 bpd by the end of

2025, according to Energy Aspects.

The lift in output comes as operators are eyeing lower

breakeven costs and lower carbon emissions intensity in

deepwater assets compared with shale resources, according to

Matthew Hale, senior vice president of drilling wells & research

at Rystad Energy.

Deepwater breakeven oil prices average around $40 per barrel

globally and emissions intensity is the lowest across major oil

supply segments, according to Hale. Breakeven prices in the

onshore Permian basin, the top U.S. oilfield, are closer to $50

per barrel, according to Enverus Intelligence.