UK supermajor BP has started output at the Argos semi-submersible production platform, the company’s fifth development project in the US Gulf of Mexico.

With a gross production capacity of up to 140,000 barrels per day of oil and operating in 4500 feet of water about 190 miles (304 kilometres) south of New Orleans, Argos is the first new BP-operated facility in the region since 2008.

“As BP’s most digital facility worldwide, applying our latest technologies, Argos will strengthen our key position in the Gulf of Mexico for years to come,” said BP chief executive Bernard Looney.