Every deepwater platform installed since Feb. 2018, when Chevron installed its Big Foot tension leg platform (TLP), has been a Floating Production Unit (aka FPU or production semisubmersible). During that period, no new SPARs, FPSOs, or TLPs were installed.
The list (below) of these simpler, safer, greener FPUs has grown by two with the initiation of production at Shenandoah and Salamanca. Note the water depth range from 3725 to 8600 ft.
| platform | operator | water depth (ft) | first production |
| Appomattox | Shell | 7400 | May 2019 |
| King’s Quay | Murphy | 3725 | April 2022 |
| Vito | Shell | 4050 | Feb 2023 |
| Argos | bp | 4440 | April 2023 |
| Anchor | Chevron | 4600 | Aug 2024 |
| Whale | Shell | 8600 | Jan 2025 |
| Shenandoah | Beacon | 5840 | July 2025 |
| Salamanca | LLOG | 6405 | Sept 2025 |
The efficiencies achieved with the simpler platform designs combined with the high pressure (>15,000 psi) technology developed over the past 2 decades is facilitatihg production from the highly prospective Paleogene (Wilcox) deepwater fans. (For those interested in learning more about the geology, see the excellent presentation by Dr. Mike Sweet, Univ. of Texas, that is embedded in this post.)
With bp’s commitment to Tiber, 3 new high-pressure projects, ala Chevron’s Anchor, are in the pipeline:
| platform | operator | water depth (ft) | discovery date | first production |
| Kaskida | bp | 6000 | 2006 | 2029 |
| Sparta | Shell | 4700 | 2012 | 2028 |
| Tiber | bp | 4130 | 2009 | 2030 |
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 