Shell PLC has put onstream a second tieback to the Appomattox production hub in the Gulf of America.
Dover, discovered 2018 in the deepwater Norphlet play, contributes 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day (boed) at peak, according to a statement Tuesday on the British energy giant’s United States website. Shell owns 100 percent of Dover through Shell Offshore Inc.
“Shell continues to unlock more value from the prolific basins in our portfolio”, said Colette Hirstius, Shell executive vice president for the Gulf of America. “Dover is another example of the ways in which we maximize the production of our deep-water hubs as we deliver on our strategy to create more value with less emissions. The high-margin, lower-carbon barrels from the Gulf of America are essential to our energy system, both now and in the future”.
Dover will consist of up to 2 wells produced through a 17.5-mile flowline and riser according to Shell. It estimates 44.5 million boe of proven and probable reserves in Dover. Shell approved the project in the first quarter of 2023.
Dover is in the Mississippi Canyon in around 7,500 feet of water about 170 miles off the southeast coast of New Orleans City, Louisiana, according to Shell. It is Shell’s sixth discovery in Norphlet.
The first tieback to Appomattox, Rydberg, went online in the first quarter of 2024. Rydberg has a peak production of 16,000 boed. Discovered 2014, it has proven and probable reserves of about 38 million boe.
Rydberg sits within the Mississippi Canyon in the Norphlet Corridor around 75 miles off the coast of Louisiana in approximately 7,450 feet of water, according to Shell.
In 2019 Shell declared it is the first to begin production in a commercial discovery in the Norphlet formation with the startup of the Appomattox field. The field has a production capacity of 175,000 boed, Shell said in a media release May 23, 2019. Appomattox is a joint venture between Shell, with a 79 percent operatorship stake, and China National Offshore Oil Corp., which holds the remaining 21 percent.
In 2025, Dover is Shell’s second start-up, after the Whale field. The co-project with Chevron Corp. is expected to produce up to 100,000 boed. Shell Offshore operates Whale with a 60 percent stake. Chevron owns 40 percent through Chevron USA Inc.
Located in Alaminos Canyon Block 773, Whale features a semi-submersible production host in over 8,600 feet of water. Up to 15 wells will be tied back to the host via subsea infrastructure, according to the owners.
Discovered 2017, Whale holds estimated proven and probable reserves of 480 million boe. Its production facility is adjacent to the Silvertip field, also owned by Shell and Chevron, and lies about 10 miles from Shell and Chevron’s Perdido spar platform.
Source: by Jov Onsat for Rigzone Staff