Shell starts production from deepwater Whale platform in Gulf of Mexico

Shell Offshore announced last week that it had started production from the deepwater Whale floating production facility in the US Gulf of Mexico.

Whale is located in Alaminos Canyon Block 773 adjacent to the Silvertip field and around 10 miles (16 km) from the Perdido platform – both of which are also operated by Shell. The Whale facility is located around 200 miles (320 km) south of Houston in more than 8,600 feet (2,600 metres) of water. The facility comprises a semi-submersible production host to which 15 wells will be tied back via subsea infrastructure.

The project is anticipated to produce 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) at its peak and has estimated recoverable resources of 480mn barrels of oil equivalent (boe). Shell’s integrated gas and upstream director, Zoë Yujnovich, said Whale would make a “significant contribution” towards the company’s commitment to bring projects online, with Shell’s total peak production reaching more than 500,000 boepd between 2023 and 2025.

Shell noted that Whale’s design closely replicates its Vito platform, a four-column semi-submersible host facility located in the greater Mars Corridor. Indeed, Whale replicates 99% of the hull design and 80% of the topsides from Vito. The company said it had leveraged the engineering and construction techniques used for Vito, as well as its supply chain, at Whale. As a result, Shell was able to bring Whale online 7.5 years after its discovery, though the company noted that the timeframe included a one-year delay to the final investment decision (FID) for the project. This was a result of the cash preservation strategy pursued by Shell during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The supermajor said Whale also features energy-efficient gas turbines and compression systems, which will operate with around 30% lower greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity over its lifecycle compared with Vito. It noted that its Gulf oil production more broadly has among the lowest GHG intensity in the world.

Shell operates Whale with a 60% interest, while Chevron owns the remaining 40% in the project.