News Wire — Shell Offshore Inc, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS.A), has announced a “significant” discovery at the Leopard prospect in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GOM).
The Leopard well encountered more than 600 feet of net oil pay at multiple levels, according to Shell, which said evaluation is ongoing to further define development options.
Leopard is located in the Outer Continental Shelf block Alaminos Canyon (AC) 691, which is approximately 20 miles east of the Whale discovery, 20 miles south of the recently appraised Blacktip discovery, and 33 miles from the Perdido host. The Leopard prospect has been described by Shell as an opportunity to increase production in the Perdido Corridor, where the company’s Great White, Silvertip, and Tobago fields are already producing.
“Leopard expands our leading position in the Gulf of Mexico and is an exciting addition to our core portfolio, especially given its proximity to existing infrastructure and other discoveries in the Perdido Corridor,” Paul Goodfellow, Shell’s deepwater executive vice president, said in a company statement.
“With our U.S. Gulf of Mexico production among the lowest greenhouse gas intensity in the world, Shell remains confident about the GOM and this latest discovery will help us deliver on our strategy to focus on valuable, high margin barrels as we sustain material upstream cash flows into the 2030s,” Goodfellow added in the statement.
Leopard is operated by Shell, which has a 50 percent stake, and co-owned by Chevron U.S.A. Inc, which holds the remaining 50 percent interest.
Shell’s website notes that the company is a leading operator in the U.S. GOM, with eight deepwater production hubs and a network of subsea infrastructure, and the largest deepwater leaseholder in the region. The business began production in the Perdido Corridor at the Perdido Spar back in 2010.
*Andreas Exarheas – Rigzone
