BP is quietly looking for partners on two of its biggest Gulf of Mexico prospects, and the ripple effects could hit New Orleans shipyards, service docks and office towers for years. The energy giant has started marketing minority stakes in its Kaskida and Tiber projects in the deepwater Gulf, a move that could reshuffle who pays for and helps operate the next wave of offshore development. The potential sell-down is one of the first big strategic steps under new chief executive Meg O’Neill and comes as crude prices have climbed sharply this year. For New Orleans, still a major logistics and services nerve center for deepwater work, the outcome could shift contracts, schedules and hiring plans across the region.
According to Reuters, four people familiar with the talks say BP has opened a formal process to sell minority stakes in both developments after more than a year of internal debate. The sources told Reuters they did not know how big the stakes will be and spoke on condition of anonymity. BP declined to comment to Reuters.
What BP Is Marketing
Kaskida and Tiber are not bit players in BP’s portfolio. The company has tagged both as cornerstone Paleogene developments, each with an initial planned capacity of about 80,000 barrels per day. Kaskida is aiming for first oil around 2029 and Tiber around 2030.
Project materials state that the fields sit in the Keathley Canyon area and are part of a larger multi-asset build that could take roughly $10 billion to bring online and open up a much bigger resource base over time. Company filings and press materials describe the pair as central to BP’s long-term Gulf of Mexico strategy; BP has framed them as key pillars of its regional plans.
Local Stakes And Jobs
The wells may be hundreds of miles offshore, but the economic wake comes ashore in Louisiana. Big deepwater builds require years of fabrication work, supply vessels, subsea contracts and highly specialized rigs, much of which is sourced out of Gulf Coast ports and industrial yards that rely on New Orleans as a commercial hub.
New Orleans CityBusiness noted that regional contractors and maritime employers that already serve the basin are watching the sale process closely. The identity of any new partners is not just a boardroom detail; whoever buys in could influence which companies win the bulk of construction and services work tied to these projects over the next decade.
Regulatory Fight
Kaskida is already running into turbulence on the regulatory front. Environmental groups sued in April to challenge the federal government’s approval of the project, arguing that officials left holes in their review of spill response plans and public health risks, according to AP.
Brettny Hardy, a senior attorney at Earthjustice representing the plaintiffs, warned that the approval could pave the way for a replay of one of the Gulf’s darkest chapters, saying, “The Trump administration has teed up the entire Gulf region for a Deepwater Horizon sequel.” The groups contend that those legal and safety concerns could complicate or slow the development timeline.
Why BP Might Be Selling Now
Big offshore projects are expensive, and energy majors often sell minority slices to free up cash and share risk. In this case, Reuters reported that freeing capital is part of BP’s rationale as it leans back into oil and gas under new leadership.
The potential stake sale would support BP’s goal of lifting its U.S. upstream output to roughly 1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2030, Reuters noted, while letting the company share execution risk with partners. Higher crude prices this year have also made Gulf of Mexico assets more tempting for would-be buyers, effectively narrowing the window for BP to market its stakes while conditions look favorable.
What To Watch
Several unanswered questions will shape how investors and local businesses respond. Among them: how large a minority position BP actually offers, which kinds of partners it targets and whether litigation or permitting delays drag out the schedule.
The company has not disclosed a formal timetable or stake size, so potential bidders and New Orleans area contractors are largely in wait-and-see mode, looking for an official marketing package and rounds of vendor briefings. New Orleans CityBusiness first highlighted the Reuters report and is tracking any subsequent local contract news and regulatory developments that could decide how much of this deepwater spending lands in and around the Crescent City.
