In March 2026, the Trump administration approved BP’s production plan for the Kaskida deepwater field in the Gulf of America — BP’s first entirely new Gulf oilfield development since the 2010
Deepwater Horizon disaster. The field was discovered by the Deepwater Horizon rig itself in 2006.
BP’s own project documentation, submitted to federal regulators, acknowledged the company lacks full qualifications to operate a high-pressure, high-temperature project of this scale. BOEM approved it anyway.
This piece breaks down the 20-year engineering story, the $10 billion Paleogene strategy, the “God Squad” ESA exemption covering the entire Gulf, and what the risk numbers in BP’s own filings actually say.
oil and gas, energy policy, deepwater drilling, Gulf of America, BP
