Shell has started production of oil and natural gas from the Perdido Development, an offshore drilling and production facility. Located in an isolated, ultra-deep sector of the Gulf of Mexico, Perdido facility sits in approximately 2,450mt of water.
From the lease purchase to production, the Perdido Development required an industry workforce of approximately 12,000 people, including employees and contractors. Shell designed and operates the Perdido host spar, a floating production facility, which is jointly owned by Shell (35%), Chevron (37.5%), and BP (27.5%).
Marvin Odum, director of Upstream Americas at Shell Energy Resources, said: “Perdido is an impressive project in a strong Gulf of Mexico portfolio that continues to grow. Perdido presented technical challenges unlike we’ve ever seen in the Gulf of Mexico.
“Shell’s team used its expertise to open this new frontier and confront complex reservoir characteristics, extreme marine conditions, and record water depth pressures. Perdido demonstrates what companies like Shell can do when US federal lands and waters are opened to responsible energy exploration and production.”
The facility will produce from the Great White, Silvertip, and Tobago offshore fields, requiring as many as 35 wells over the life of the fields. Tobago sits in approximately 2,900mt of water.
The Perdido Development will ramp up to annual peak production of approximately 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, the company said.
Also in the Gulf of Mexico, Shell recently revealed another deepwater discovery at Appomattox, which is in addition to recent exploration success at West Boreas, Vito, and Stones. These discoveries underpin the potential for four new production hubs.