Energy Department Closes $480 Million Loan for Gulf Oil and Gas Project

The U.S. Department of Energy has closed a $480 million loan for Arena Energy's Project Elkhorn, financing upgrades to oil and natural gas infrastructure off Louisiana.

The department said the project will modernize 22 offshore platforms on the Gulf of America shelf. At peak production, it is expected to add up to 38,600 barrels of oil per day and 77 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. Those figures are projections, not current output.

Arena currently produces about 30,000 barrels of oil per day offshore in the Gulf, according to the department. Over the project's life, the upgrades are expected to add approximately 125 million barrels of oil and 250 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

The department projects 2,400 construction-related jobs and 400 operations jobs. It described the financing as its first closed loan supporting domestic oil and natural gas production.

The loan is being provided through the Office of Energy Dominance Financing. The announcement concerns completed financing for the project, not completion of the platform upgrades.