Shell gears up for drilling campaign in Gulf of Mexico to enrich its hydrocarbon arsenal

Shell Offshore Inc., a subsidiary of the UK-headquartered energy giant Shell, has greenlighted a phased three-well program to bolster production at a development in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GoM).

Thanks to this final investment decision (FID), Shell will embark on a phased campaign to deliver three wells designed to boost production at its operated Perdido spar, which is located approximately 200 miles south of Galveston, Texas, in about 8,000 feet of water.

Following the completion of this campaign, which is anticipated in April 2025, these wells are expected to produce up to 22,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) at peak rates. Perdido began production in 2010 and its production capacity is 125 kboe/d at peak rates.

The wells will be drilled on the Great White field, where Shell Offshore is the operator with 33.34% interest. Chevron holds a 33.33% stake and BP Exploration & Production Inc. has the remaining 33.33% interest in the asset. This investment underpins Shell’s long-term commitment to the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, where oil production is believed to have among the lowest greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity in the world.

Rich Howe, Shell’s Executive Vice President for Deep Water, highlighted: “Shell is the leading operator in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, and we continue to find ways to build on that position. By expanding our Perdido development, we continue to unlock the greatest value from this exceptional resource.”

Shell Offshore is the operator of the Perdido Regional Host with a 35% interest in Perdido while Chevron U.S.A. Inc. (37.5%), 3C Perdido Holdings LLC (26.5%), and BP Exploration & Production (1%) act as its partners. The Perdido offshore development comprises a spar platform that serves as a production hub for three deepwater fields: Great White, Silvertip, and Tobago.

Recently, Shell secured the remaining interest in a deepwater field in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, bringing its total interest in this asset to 100%. The field has been developed as a subsea tie-back to the nearby Ursa production hub.

Another oil project in the Gulf of Mexico took a step closer to first production after Boskalis’ largest semi-submersible heavy transport vessel transported Shell’s new floating production unit (FPU) for this project, which is slated to come online next year. The vessel, loaded with the 25,000-ton FPU, arrived in Ingleside, United States, in November 2023.