HOUSTON, Aug. 14 -- Shell Exploration & Production Co. has begun production from its Brutus tension leg platform on Green Canyon Block 158 in 2,985 ft of water.
Production was 25,000 b/d of oil and 35 MMcfd of gas from the first well. Shell expects peak production of 100,000 b/d of oil and 150 MMcfd of gas from the project in second quarter 2002. Gross ultimate recovery is estimated at 250 million boe, said SEPCO.
The TLP was towed to the field, 165 miles southwest of New Orleans, in May.
Matthias Bichsel, Shell International Exploration & Production Inc.'s director of deepwater services said, "We developed and executed a plan that completed the Brutus project 7 months earlier than the previous best completion time and 18% below our cost benchmark, which was the Ram-Powell project."
Exact figures for the TLPs were not disclosed, but the entire Brutus project will cost less than $760 million, including pipelines but excluding lease costs. Shell paid a combined $15.5 million for the Green Canyon 158 and 202 blocks in March 1985 (OGJ Online, Apr. 25, 2001).
The eight-slot Brutus tension leg platform is intended to be used as a hub for future subsea developments. Proposed tie-in projects were not disclosed.
SEPCO owns 100% of the project.
Shell Deepwater Services was responsible for design, construction, and installation of the TLP system and pipelines, while SEPCo is responsible for subsurface evaluation and management, drilling, completion, and production operations.
