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Perdido

Delving deeper for oil in the Gulf of Mexico

Shell has been a leader in deepwater exploration and production for the last 30 years. Perdido in the Gulf of Mexico is one of our most challenging deepwater projects. Shell has a 35% interest in the project and is the operator. Perdido is in a water depth of some 2,380 metres and will have a peak production of 130,000 boe/day from three fields. First production from Perdido is expected in early 2010.

Key facts

Location:	Gulf of Mexico, US
Depth:	~2,380 metres
Interests:	Shell 35% (operator), Chevron 37.5%, BP 27.5%
Fields:	Great White, Tobago, Silvertip
Peak Production:	130 kboe/d [API: 18-40]
Key contractors:	Technip, Kiewit, FMC Technologies, Heerema Marine Contractors

Technology

Perdido, moored in ~2,380m of water, will be the world’s deepest Direct Vertical Access Spar. The spar will act as a hub for, and enable development of, three fields – Great White, Tobago, and Silvertip – and it will gather, process and export production within a 48km radius. Tobago, in ~2,925m of water, will be the world’s deepest subsea completion.

Environment and society

Social and environmental responsibility is a central pillar of Shell’s operations. Shell’s Gulf of Mexico operations have a long association with the city of New Orleans, and this is reflected in the contribution the company has made to many recovery programmes after Hurricane Katrina. Shell’s "Coming Home" campaign and sponsorship of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival – a key event in the city’s on-going recovery – helped build confidence in the City’s future. Shell is also involved in projects such as wetlands restoration on the Texas/ Louisiana coast.

Current developments

The Perdido spar was constructed by Technip in Pori, Finland and began its 13,200-kilometre journey to Texas in May 2008, arriving in the Gulf of Mexico in August 2008. The 555-foot cylindrical spar has now been secured to the sea floor and Shell has completed the installation of the drilling and production platform on top of it. Over the next several months, approximately 270 personnel living on the platform and on a “flotel” alongside it will complete the myriad of tasks in the commissioning and hookup required to produce first oil.

There will be 22 direct vertical access wells from the spar, with an additional 13 tiebacks from subsea completions. Once completed, the Perdido spar will be nearly as tall as the Eiffel Tower and weigh the same as 10,000 cars.

The Noble Clyde Boudreaux platform is currently drilling the production wells. In December 2008 we set a world record with the deepest completed offshore production well, at about 2,852 metres (9,356 feet) below the water’s surface. Another well currently being drilled in the Tobago field will go deeper at around 2,925 metres (9,627 feet).