HOUSTON, Texas: BP said it will invest US$5 billion in a new offshore drilling development in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, underscoring its pivot back to oil and gas after scaling down renewable ambitions earlier this year.

The Tiber-Guadalupe project, expected to begin production in 2030, will feature a new floating platform capable of producing 80,000 barrels of crude per day. It will tap into the Tiber and Guadalupe fields, around 300 miles (480 km) southwest of New Orleans, which BP estimates hold about 350 million barrels of oil equivalent in recoverable resources.

The move marks a significant milestone in BP's effort to win back investors after years of underperformance compared with rivals such as Shell and Exxon Mobil. Burdened by debt and weaker returns, BP announced in February that it would cut renewable energy spending and expand oil and gas output to help revive earnings.

The Gulf of Mexico is central to that strategy. BP produced 341,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day from the region last year and is targeting at least 400,000 boepd by the end of the decade.

"Tiber-Guadalupe represents the next stage in our deepwater growth in the Gulf and leverages decades of innovation in offshore engineering," BP said in a statement.

The platform will be BP's second in the Gulf. It is designed to withstand ultra-high reservoir pressures of 20,000 pounds per square inch, a breakthrough in offshore technology. Chevron became the first operator to experience such pressure last year with its Anchor project.

BP said development costs for Tiber-Guadalupe would run about $3 per barrel lower than its nearby Kaskida project by reusing 85 percent of the same design, a measure it expects will improve efficiency and cut expenses.