Shell announces Fort Sumter discovery in Gulf of Mexico

Shell has announced a new exploration discovery in the deepwater US Gulf of Mexico. The initial estimated recoverable resources for the Fort Sumter well are more than 125 million boe. Further appraisal drilling and planned wells in adjacent structures could considerably increase recoverable potential in the vicinity of the Fort Sumter well.

“The Fort Sumter discovery builds upon Shell’s global deepwater leadership. Its proximity to our nearby discoveries in the area, and to highly prospective acreage to the southeast, makes Fort Sumter particularly significant,” said Ceri Powell, Executive Vice President Exploration. “These successes demonstrate there is still running room in the producing basins of our heartlands where large, high-value discoveries have the potential to further strengthen our deepwater competitiveness.”

Fort Sumter was safely drilled in the Mississippi Canyon Block 566, located approximately 73 miles (117 km) offshore southeast of New Orleans, in a water depth of 7062 ft (2,152 m) to a total vertical drilling depth of 28 016 ft (8539 m) measured depth. The block is nine square miles (23 km²) in size and is operated by Shell (100%). An appraisal sidetrack well was later drilled to a depth of 29 200 ft (800 m) measured depth.

Shell’s material discovery in this heartland builds upon recent Norphlet exploration success at the Appomattox (2010), Vicksburg (2013), and Rydberg (2014) discoveries, bringing the total resources added by exploration in the Gulf of Mexico for Shell since 2010 to around 1.3 billion boe.

Shell global deepwater, which is a growth priority for the company, currently produces around 600 000 boe/d, and production is expected to increase to about 900 0000 bpd by the early 2020s from already discovered, established reservoirs.

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/29072016/shell-announces-fort-sumter-discovery-in-gulf-of-mexico/