Shell plc subsidiary Shell Offshore Inc. announced the start of production at PowerNap, deepwater oil field development in the Gulf of Mexico with an estimated peak production of 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Discovered in 2014 and developed by Shell, PowerNap is located in the south-central Mississippi Canyon area approximately 150 miles from New Orleans in about 4,200 feet of water. PowerNap is a tie-back to the Shell-operated Olympus production hub in the prolific Mars Corridor.
PowerNap production will be transported to market on the Mars pipeline, which is operated by Shell Pipeline Co. and co-owned by Shell Midstream Partners L.P. (71.5%) and BP Midstream Partners LP (28.5%).
“Shell has been producing in the Mars Corridor for more than 25 years, and we continue to find ways to unlock even more value there,” said Shell Upstream Director Zoe Yujnovich. “PowerNap strengthens a core upstream position that is critical to achieving our Powering Progress strategy and ensuring we can supply the stable, secure energy resources the world needs today and in the future.”
Shell is the leading deep-water operator in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, where its production is among the lowest greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity in the world for producing oil. The company’s global deep-water portfolio represents two core positions in its upstream business with prolific basins in the U.S. and Brazil, along with an exciting frontier exploration portfolio in Mexico, Suriname, Argentina and West Africa.
Shell designs and operates its deep-water projects to be competitive and economically resilient, and since 2015 has reduced unit development costs by 50% and unit operating costs by 40%.
