Shell’s Whale Deepwater Development in the US Gulf of Mexico Launches
On January 9th, oil and gas giant Shell announced that production at the deepwater Whale Floating Production Facility (FPU) in the Gulf of Mexico has begun.
The Whale production facility is located in Block 773, AlaValley, adjacent to the Shell operated Silvertip field, approximately 10 miles (16 km) from the Shell operated Perido platform and approximately 200 miles (320 km) south of Houston.
The Whale field was discovered in 2017 at a depth of about 2400 metres (8000 ft) and is Shell's 12th deepwater development in the Gulf of Mexico.
The platform structure of the Project is 99% the same as that of Shell Vito Project and 80% of the superstructure. The project development will feature an energy efficient gas turbine and compression system with a greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity approximately 30% lower than Vito throughout its life cycle.
Shell holds a 60% interest in the project as operator and Chevron holds a 40% interest. A peak production of 100000 boe/d is expected and currently a recoverable resource of 480mn boe is estimated. The Whale FPU platform has a total height of 110 meters and a total weight of 25000 tons and is capable of withstanding 30 meters of waves during the hurricane season. The platform was built by Singapore's marine giant Seaatrium.
The Whale development demonstrates our commitment to creating more value by reducing emissions through our upstream business to provide the energy people need today. It will make a significant contribution to our commitment to bring the project online, with a total peak production of more than half a million boe per day from 2023 to 2025. " ZoShell's director of gas and upstream said.
Whale FPU duplicated Vito 99% hull design and 80% superstructure. It also features an energy efficient gas turbine and compression system with a greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity approximately 30% lower than Vito throughout its life cycle.
