6/11/2015

Shellpressesaheadwithworld'sdeepestoffshoreoilwell|Business|TheGuardian

Shell presses ahead with world's deepest

offshore oil well
Company will drill almost two miles underwater in Gulf of Mexico as part of next generation of deepwater developments
Simon Goodley
Wednesday 8 May 2013 21.01BST

Royal Dutch Shell is pressing ahead with the world's deepest offshore oil and gas
production facility by drilling almost two miles underwater in the politically sensitive Gulf
of Mexico.
The move is being viewed in the oil industry as a demonstration of Shell's confidence that
its technology can deliver returns on expensive and risky offshore projects, despite a recent
downturn in oil prices.
It comes a day after ExxonMobil said it would start work on a $4bn (2.6bn) project to
develop the Julia oilfield, also in the North American ocean basin, and weeks after BP
delayed development of its biggest Gulf of Mexico project Mad Dog Phase 2 citing rising
costs.
John Hollowell, a Shell executive vice-president, said: "This important investment
demonstrates our ongoing commitment to usher in the next generation of deepwater
developments, which will deliver more production growth in the Americas. We will
continue our leadership in safe, innovative deepwater operations to help meet the growing
demand for energy in the US."
The move comes despite ongoing controversy over offshore exploration especially in the
Gulf of Mexico, where in April 2010 a fire and explosion on the BP Deepwater Horizon rig
killed 11 workers and started a leak that took three months to cap. Last month BP said it
had paid $25bn (16bn) of the $42bn it has set aside to cover the damage caused by the
spill.
Shell's Gulf of Mexico field, called Stones, was discovered eight years ago 200 miles southwest of New Orleans and is 2,900 metres (9,500ft) below the sea. Perdido, another Shell site
in the region, is currently the world's deepest offshore well at 2,880 metres below the
surface. Meanwhile the company has several other projects nearby, including its 900
metre-deep Mars field, where it is adding new infrastructure, plus its Appomattox and Vito
discoveries.
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/may/08/shelldeepestoffshoreoilwell

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6/11/2015

Shellpressesaheadwithworld'sdeepestoffshoreoilwell|Business|TheGuardian

This first phase of the latest project is expected to have annual peak production of 50,000
barrels of oil equivalent per day, from more than 250m barrels of recoverable resources.
Shell added that the whole field has "significant upside potential" and is estimated to
contain more than 2bn barrels.
Royal Dutch Shell shares added 20.5p to close at 2242.5p. Last week the company's chief
executive, Peter Voser, unexpectedly announced plans to stand down less than four years
into the job as Shell unveiled a 4% increase in first-quarter profits.
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