Offshore staff
HOUSTON –Shell has started producing from the deepwater Mars B platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Producing is going through the Olympus installation making this the first deepwater GoM project to expand an existing oil and gas field with significant new infrastructure.
Shell said this should extend the life of the greater Mars basin production to 2050 or beyond. When added to future Olympus production, the original Mars platform is expected to deliver a total of 1 Bboe.
“We safely completed construction and installation of the Olympus platform more than six months ahead of schedule, allowing us to begin production early from the development’s first well,” said John Hollowell, executive VP for Deep Water, Shell Upstream Americas. “Olympus is the latest, successful start-up of our strong portfolio of deep-water projects, which we expect to generate substantial value in the coming years. Deep water will continue to be a core growth opportunity for Shell.”
In addition to the Olympus drilling and production platform, the Shell Mars B development includes subsea wells at the West Boreas and South Deimos fields, export pipelines, and a shallow-waterplatform at West Delta 143. Olympus is in approximately 945 m (3,100 ft) of water.
Using the Olympus platform drilling rig and a floating drill rig, additional development drilling will enable ramp up to an estimated peak of 100,000 boe/d in 2016. Mars field produced an average of over 60,000 boe/d in 2013.
Partners in the development are operator Shell, 71.5%; and BP, 28.5%.
2/4/14
