Shell starts oil production from Appomattox field

Shell has started production from its Appomattox floating production platform in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The company says the production has kicked off “months ahead of schedule, opening a new frontier in the deep-water US Gulf of Mexico.”

Appomattox, which currently has an expected production of 175,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), is the first commercial discovery now brought into production in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico Norphlet formation.

In 2010, Appomattox was an industry-first in a series of commercial discoveries by Shell in the Norphlet. To remind, almost exactly a year ago, Shell made a large, deep-water, exploration discovery in the Norphlet at its Dover well, near the Appomattox location. This was Shell’s sixth discovery in the Norphlet play and encountered more than 800 net feet of pay (244 meters).

Commenting on the Appomattox production start-up on Thursday, Andy Brown, Upstream Director, Royal Dutch Shell, said: “That Appomattox was safely brought online ahead of schedule and far under budget is a testament to our ongoing commitment to drive down costs through efficiency improvements during execution. Appomattox creates a core long-term hub for Shell in the Norphlet through which we can tie back several already discovered fields as well as future discoveries.”

According to Shell, Appomattox has realized cost reductions of more than 40% since taking the final investment decision in 2015. Shell is the operator of the project with a 79 percent stake, while China’s CNOOC owns 21 percent.

“The start of production at Appomattox is only just the beginning of further maximizing the flow of resources in the prolific Norphlet surrounding Appomattox,” Shell said.

Oil produced from the Appomattox will be moved by the Mattox Pipeline, a 90-mile (145 km), 24-inch (61 centimeters) pipeline system, to the Proteus pipeline system and then onshore.

The Appomattox is Shell’s largest platform in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. It is is a four-column semi-submersible production platform, moored using 16 mooring lines arranged in 4×4 clusters, in 2,255m (7,400ft) of water approximately 130 kilometers offshore Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico.

Offshore Energy Today Staff

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