Shell has started production from the Stones development in the Gulf of Mexico.
Stones is expected to produce around 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) when fully ramped up at the end of 2017.
The host facility for the “world’s deepest offshore oil and gas project” is a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, Turritella. It is the thirteenth FPSO in Shell’s global deep-water portfolio and produces through subsea infrastructure beneath 9,500 feet (2,900 meters) of water.
“Stones is the latest example of our leadership, capability, and knowledge which are key to profitably developing our global deep-water resources,” said Andy Brown , upstream director, Royal Dutch Shell.
Stones, which is 100% owned and operated by Shell, is the company’s second producing field from the Lower Tertiary geologic frontier in the Gulf of Mexico, following the start-up of Perdido in 2010.