Shell to go ahead with Whale development in Gulf of Mexico

The Whale production facility is in the Alaminos Canyon Block 773 and is adjacent to the Shell-operated Silvertip field, approximately 10 miles from the Shell-operated Perdido platform and approximately 200 miles southwest of Houston. Discovered in 2017, Whale will feature a semi-submersible production host in more than 8600 ft of water with 15 oil producing wells.

By leveraging the engineering, construction and supply chain of Vito, Shell expects Whale to achieve first oil 7.5 years after discovery.

The Whale development, owned by Shell Offshore Inc. (60% operator) and Chevron U.S.A. Inc. (40%), is expected to reach peak production of approximately 100 000 boe/d and currently has an estimated, recoverable resource volume of 490 million boe. Whale will be Shell’s 12^th deepwater host in the Gulf of Mexico and is currently scheduled to begin production in 2024.

“Whale is the latest demonstration of our focus on simplification, replication and capital projects with shorter cycle times to drive greater value from our advantaged positions,” said Wael Sawan, Shell Upstream Director. “We are building on more than 40 years of deep-water expertise to deliver competitive projects that yield high-margin barrels so that we are able to meet the energy demands of today while generating the cash required to help fund the development of the energy of the future.”

Image shows artist’s impression of the Whale Floating Production Unit to be built by Sembcorp Marine. Courtesy of Sembcorp Marine.

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