Royal Dutch Shell’s subsidiary Shell Offshore has taken the final investment decision (FID) to develop the PowerNap field in the south-central Mississippi Canyon area of the US Gulf of Mexico.
Discovered by Shell in 2014, the PowerNap deep-water field will be developed as a subsea tie-back to the Olympus production hub operated by the company.
The PowerNap field, which is contained in a water depth of around 4,200ft, will be 100% developed by Shell.
Currently, it is estimated to have more than 85 million barrels of oil equivalent recoverable resources.
PowerNap field expected to produce up to 35,000boe/d at peak rates
Located nearly 240km from New Orleans, the PowerNap field is slated to begin production in late 2021. It is expected to yield up to 35,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) at peak rates.
Shell is looking to achieve a forward-looking break-even price of under $35 per barrel from the PowerNap project.
Shell upstream director Wael Sawan said: “PowerNap further strengthens Shell’s leading position in the Gulf of Mexico.
“It demonstrates the depth of our portfolio of Deep Water growth options and our ability to fully leverage our existing infrastructure to unlock value.”
Production from the field is planned to be transported from the Olympus production hub via the Mars pipeline to the market. The Mars pipeline is operated by Shell Pipeline and co-owned by Shell Midstream Partners (71.5%) and BP Midstream Partners (28.5%).
Shell holds a stake of 71.5% in Olympus production hub, where it is partnered by BP Exploration and Production, which owns the remaining 28.5% stake. Production from the Olympus project began in 2014.
In May 2019, Shell began production from the Appomattox field in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico, located nearly 128km southeast of Louisiana. Overall, Shell operates nine production hubs and a network of subsea infrastructure in the US Gulf of Mexico.
In April 2018, Shell sanctioned the development of the Vito deep-water field in the US Gulf of Mexico with a target to draw first oil in 2021.
