The peak production from the offshore project is expected to be nearly 40,000boe/d
The Barracuda Project has two wells that are tied back to the Dolphin platform. (Credit: QR9iudjz0 from FreeImages)
Royal Dutch Shell has produced the first gas from Block 5C (Barracuda Project) in Block C, offshore Trinidad and Tobago.
Located in the East Coast Marine Area (ECMA), the backfill project is estimated to produce nearly 25,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) or 140 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscf/d) of gas.
The peak production from the Barracuda project is projected to be around 40,000boe/d or 220mmscf/d of gas.
The backfill project features two subsea wells, that are both owned 100% by Shell. One of the wells is located in the Endeavour field, while the other is in the Bounty field.
The two wells have a tied back to Shell’s Dolphin platform. They are said to be among the deepest development wells in Trinidad and Tobago.
According to Shell, the well in the Endeavour field was drilled to a depth of 20,000ft, and the well in the Bounty field was drilled to a depth of 16,000ft.
Barracuda is the first greenfield project for Shell in Trinidad and Tobago apart from being one of its largest in the country since its $53bn acquisition of BG Group in 2016.
The project was executed by Shell Trinidad and Tobago, through BG International, a subsidiary of Shell. A final investment decision (FID) on developing Block C was taken by Shell Trinidad and Tobago in January 2020.
Shell senior VP and country chair Eugene Okpere said: “We are immensely proud of our people and the remarkable work it took to achieve this milestone, particularly given that drilling began in May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our execution strategy had to be completely overhauled to deliver our business plan, all while working remotely. It required tremendous resilience, adaptability and commitment.”
The company said that bringing the Barracuda project on stream is a significant milestone for delivering gas to the domestic and international markets through the Atlantic LNG plant. Shell’s stake in the LNG plant ranges from 46% to 57.5% in each of the four trains.
In another development, Shell has reportedly launched a sale process for its interests in non-operated oil and gas fields in Malaysian waters. The sale procedure is being run by J.P. Morgan, reported Reuters, based on a document it had accessed.