US Announces $5bl Commitment for Research, Development of Computer Chips

FILE - US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo speaks Dec. 11, 2023, during a visit to BAE Systems, in Nashua, N.H. The Biden administration on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, will announce the investment of $5 billion in a public-private consortium aimed at supporting research and development in advanced computer chips. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
FILE - US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo speaks Dec. 11, 2023, during a visit to BAE Systems, in Nashua, N.H. The Biden administration on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, will announce the investment of $5 billion in a public-private consortium aimed at supporting research and development in advanced computer chips. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
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US Announces $5bl Commitment for Research, Development of Computer Chips

FILE - US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo speaks Dec. 11, 2023, during a visit to BAE Systems, in Nashua, N.H. The Biden administration on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, will announce the investment of $5 billion in a public-private consortium aimed at supporting research and development in advanced computer chips. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
FILE - US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo speaks Dec. 11, 2023, during a visit to BAE Systems, in Nashua, N.H. The Biden administration on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, will announce the investment of $5 billion in a public-private consortium aimed at supporting research and development in advanced computer chips. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

The Biden administration on Friday announced the investment of $5 billion in a newly established public-private consortium aimed at supporting research and development in advanced computer chips.

The National Semiconductor Technology Center is being funded through the CHIPS and Science Act. That 2022 law aims to reinvigorate the computer chip sector within the United States through tens of billions of dollars in targeted government support.

Stakeholders in the chips industry gathered on the White House campus to discuss how the center should prioritize research and worker training for an industry poised to expand because of government backing. The coronavirus pandemic exposed the risk to the economy and national security of an overdependence on Taiwan for advanced chips, while the emergence of artificial intelligence is likely to push demand for newer and more innovative chips upward.

“This is an inflection point in the industry,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told the group. “Not just because we’re dangerously dependent on one country for so many of our chips, but because AI is going to lead to an explosion of demand for chips, for sophisticated chips, more energy-efficient chips, cost-effective chips.”

The center would help to fund the design and prototyping of new chips, in addition to training workers for the sector, according to The AP.

Companies say they need a skilled workforce in order to capitalize on the separate $39 billion being provided by the government to fund new and expanded computer chip plants. Raimondo said there will be “a drumbeat” of funding announcements for companies in the next six to 12 weeks.

The sector would likely increase rapidly in terms of its need for highly specialized workers. Labor Department data say that about 375,000 people are employed in the production of computer chips with an average income of $82,830.



Chevron Announces First Oil at Ballymore Project in Gulf of Mexico  

The logo and trading information for Chevron is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, June 27, 2022. (Reuters)
The logo and trading information for Chevron is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, June 27, 2022. (Reuters)
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Chevron Announces First Oil at Ballymore Project in Gulf of Mexico  

The logo and trading information for Chevron is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, June 27, 2022. (Reuters)
The logo and trading information for Chevron is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, June 27, 2022. (Reuters)

Chevron has started oil and gas production from a project in the US Gulf of Mexico, the oil major said on Monday, bringing the company a step closer toward its goal of growing production from the ocean basin by 50% this year.

The $1.6 billion project called Ballymore, located about 160 miles southeast of New Orleans, is composed of three wells that are expected to produce up to 75,000 barrels of oil per day.

Chevron aims to grow oil and gas production from the Gulf to 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2026, and at the same time, it is working to cut up to $3 billion in costs across the business.

Instead of building a new production platform for Ballymore, the wells will transport oil and gas back to an existing platform, which the company said will allow it to increase production at less expense.

“Ballymore is interesting in that it's a tie-back to an existing facility, which has allowed us to bring production to market more quickly,” said Bruce Niemeyer, president of Americas exploration and production, in an interview.

The project is also Chevron's first in a geological formation of the Gulf called Norphlet, where the oil and gas industry has historically had fewer discoveries than in other parts of the ocean basin, he added.

Advancements in technology are key to expanding resource exploration, such as the use of ocean bottom nodes, which allow geophysicists to collect better data underneath the ocean floor, Niemeyer said.

Chevron is the operator of Ballymore with a 60% interest, while co-owner TotalEnergies has 40%.

Ballymore holds an estimated 150 million barrels of oil equivalent in potentially recoverable resources.

The company owns 370 leases in the Gulf of Mexico and expects to participate in a lease sale this year by US President Donald Trump's administration, Niemeyer said.

The Ballymore start-up comes after Chevron announced first oil in August at Anchor, a Gulf of Mexico project that is a technological breakthrough with the ability to operate in deepwater pressures of up to 20,000 pounds per square inch.