The Shell Mars B development includes subsea wells at the West Boreas and South Deimos fields, export pipelines, and a shallow-water platform, located at West Delta 143, near the Louisiana coast, in addition to the Olympus drilling and production platform.
Shell said that the Mars B development is the first deep-water project in the Gulf to expand an existing oil and gas field with new infrastructure and is expected to increase the life of the greater Mars basin to 2050 or beyond.
In future, Olympus and the original Mars platform are expected to produce around one billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe).
Shell Upstream Americas deep water executive vice president John Hollowell said the company safely completed construction and installation of the Olympus platform more than six months ahead of schedule.
"With two large platforms now producing from the deep-water Mars field, this project demonstrates our deep-water project delivery and leadership," Hollowell added.
Shell operates the Mars B development with 71.5% stake, while BP holds the remaining 28.5% interest.
