Shell rubber-stamps project to boost oil production from its Gulf of America asset

December 16, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

Shell Offshore, a subsidiary of the UK-headquartered energy giant Shell, has taken a final investment decision (FID) on a waterflood project at its field in the U.S. Gulf of America (Gulf of Mexico).

Shell explains that the Kaikias waterflood project is estimated to increase recoverable resource volume by around 60 million metric barrels of oil equivalent (P50). The estimate of resources volumes is currently classified as 2P under the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Resource Classification System.

The waterflood is said to be a method of secondary recovery where the injected water physically sweeps the displaced oil to adjacent production wells, while re-pressurizing the reservoir. The first injection is expected in 2028 and anticipated to extend the production lifecycle of Ursa by several years.

Peter Costello, Shell’s Upstream President, commented: “Following our decision to increase our stake in Ursa earlier this year, this additional investment continues to maximise the value of the asset. It also contributes to our aim of maximising high-margin production and longevity in a core basin to maintain liquids production.”

Shell emphasizes that the water will be injected to displace additional oil in the reservoir formation, which supplies production to its Ursa platform in the Mars Corridor. The Kaikias field was discovered in 2014 within more than 4,000 feet (1,219 meters) of water, approximately 130 miles (209 kilometers) off the coast of Louisiana.

The production from the field began in May 2018 with flowback to the Ursa tension leg platform (TLP), which is operated by Shell (61.3484%) with BP Exploration & Production (22.6916%) and ECP GOM III (15.96%) as the firm’s partners. This FID comes months after Shell bought ConocoPhillips’ stake in Ursa.