Royal Dutch Shell Plc., through its subsidiary Shell Offshore Inc. (Shell), announced Thursday that production started at the Shell-operated Appomattox floating production system in the U.S.' Gulf of Mexico. Appomattox is a joint venture between Shell (79%, operator) and CNOOC Petroleum Offshore U.S.A. Inc., a subsidiary of China’s CNOOC Limited (21%).
According to the press release, Appomattox is currently expected to produce 175,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, and is the first commercial discovery brought into production in the deep-water Norphlet formation. It was discovered in 2010. The floating production system is located approximately 80 miles (129 kilometers) southeast of Louisiana, at a water depth of approximately 7,400 feet (2,255 meters).
"That Appomattox was safely brought online ahead of schedule and far under budget is a testament to our ongoing commitment to drive down costs through efficiency improvements during execution," said Andy Brown, upstream director at Royal Dutch Shell. "Appomattox creates a core long-term hub for Shell in the Norphlet through which we can tie back several already discovered fields as well as future discoveries," he added.
(Anadolu Agency)
