Energy major Royal Dutch Shell Plc. (RDS.A) announced first production from its massive Perdido platform in the Gulf of Mexico following more than a decade of work. The $3 billion development, which boasts of several industry firsts, lies in about 8,000 feet of water about 200 miles south of the Texas coast.
Perdido is the world’s deepest offshore drilling and production facility and the most remote producing platform in the Gulf of Mexico with a projected economic life of about 20 years. Additionally, it serves the deepest subsea well in the world and is the first project to achieve commercial production of oil and natural gas from the ‘Lower Tertiary’ play, a frontier area in the ultra-deep sector of the Gulf of Mexico.
The 50,000 ton facility will handle production from the Great White, Silvertip and Tobago deepwater fields near the Gulf’s U.S. border with Mexico and is designed to produce 100,000 barrels of oil and 20 million cubic feet of natural gas per day at its peak. Shell holds a 35% operated interest in the development, with the other partners being oil supermajors Chevron Corp. (CVX) and BP Plc. (BP).
Apart from bolstering Shell’s already strong Gulf of Mexico portfolio, Perdido symbolizes a triumph of technology and innovation. The project’s success also paves the way to develop further opportunities in the emerging frontier area in deepwater Gulf region that could be a key contributor to U.S. energy supplies in coming years.
The Hague-based Royal Dutch Shell owns one of the largest integrated oil and gas businesses in the world. The group has operations all over the world and is involved in various activities related to oil and natural gas, chemicals, power generation, renewable energy resources, and other energy related businesses.
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