A Dutch offshore services company will provide a floating production platform for Royal Dutch Shell’s Stones field project in the Gulf of Mexico, which the companies say will be the deepest-water field served by such a vessel.
Shell will lease the Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel from SBM Offshore for development of its Stones field, which is in 9,500 of water and approximately 200 miles offshore.
The companies did not disclose the value of the contract in their announcement Tuesday.
“We are delighted to have been selected to supply the deepest floating installation in the world,” said Bruno Chabas, chief executive officer of SBM Offshore, in a written statement.
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Shell has several tension leg platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, but those are tethered to the ocean floor. It chose the floating production design for the Stones project because of the deep water and remote location, Shell officials said.
It can process 60,000 barrels of oil and 15 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. Its storage capacity “up to 800,000 barrels of crude oil“ makes it well-suited to remote locations that lack significant underwater pipe infrastructure. The total asset value of the vessel is approximately $ 1 billion, according to SBM Offshore.
Shell, operator and 100 percent owner of the Stones development, will begin production to the floating facility from two subsea production wells, adding six more wells later.
Separately, Shell is preparing to produce from the Olympus platform in its Mars-B development project in the Gulf. The Olympus, Shell’s largest tension leg platform, was moved to the Mars field earlier this month.
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