Superior will plug and abandon 29 wells associated with Bullwinkle, which is the deepest fixed-leg production platform on the outer continental shelf. Bullwinkle produces 4,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and serves as a processing hub for third parties.
Superior has sold a 49% interest in the assets to Dynamic Offshore Resources, which will operate the field. The Bullwinkle platform will be decommissioned at the end of its economic life, and Shell has agreed to pay Superior an undisclosed amount once decommissioning is complete, Superior said.
Terry Hall, chairman and CEO of Superior, said: “We appreciate the confidence that Shell has shown in our body of work and our ability to plan, manage and execute well intervention and decommissioning projects. We look forward to utilizing our well intervention assets – including subsea assets (vessels and remotely operated vehicles) from our recently announced acquisition of Hallin Marine – for all aspects of work that will be performed during the remaining life of the property.
“Our plan for this property includes efficiently producing the remaining reserves, maintaining the platform’s production-handling capabilities for the various subsea fields that it serves, and plugging the substantial majority of the wells within the next few years. In addition, subsea tiebacks could increase given Bullwinkle’s strategic location, its large hydrocarbon processing capacity, continued high exploration interest in the area and the favorable economics associated with processing production through an existing structure.”
Bullwinkle sits on Green Canyon block 65 in 1,353ft of water and has a cumulative production of more than 120 million barrels of oil and 185 billion cubic feet of natural gas.
