Shell Offshore Inc., Shell Deepwater Development Inc. and Shell Deepwater Production Inc., headquartered in New Orleans, La., are the Shell subsidiaries responsible for offshore exploration and production in the Gulf of Mexico.

Shell has been operating in the Gulf of Mexico for four decades, and these operations provide about 50 percent of its oil and gas production.

Shell is a leading producer of hydrocarbons and is the largest leaseholder in the Gulf of Mexico.

  • Currently, Shell's net daily production from the Gulf of Mexico averages about 280,000 barrels of crude oil per day and 1.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.
  • Shell holds an interest in about 1,023 leases (gross) consisting of about 5.60 million acres, with a net interest of 871 tracts consisting of about 4.77 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico

URSA Mississippi Canyon 809

  • The Ursa Unit is located approximately 130 miles southeast of New Orleans and encompasses Mississippi Canyon Blocks 808, 809, 810, 852, 853 and 854.
  • Water depth is approximately 3,800 feet
  • Ursa working interest owners are Shell (operator) with 45%, BP Amoco with 23%, Conoco with 16% and Exxon with 16%.
  • The size of the discovery is estimated to be about 400 million barrels of oil equivalent.
  • The Ursa development will target seven potentially commercial pay sands - two of which contain 80% of the producible reserves.
  • API gravity is estimated at 32°.

Development Plans

  • Shell announced in July 1996 the plans to develop Ursa utilizing a large tension leg platform to be installed on Block 809 in approximately 3,800 feet of water. It will surpass the world water depth record for a permanent drilling and production platform - Shell/Exxon/BP Amoco's Ram-Powell TLP - which was installed in 3,214 feet of water in May 1997.
  • Initial development plans call for as many as 14 producing wells from the TLP. Initial well rates could be as high as 30,000 barrels of oil and 80 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.

    Production

    • Production began in late March-1999.
    • Current design production rates for the Ursa TLP are 150,000 barrels of oil per day and 400 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.
    • Production from the platform will be transported approximately 47 miles via an 18-inch diameter oil pipeline and a 20-inch diameter natural gas pipeline to the West Delta 143 gathering platform. From there, the oil production will continue on the Mars Pipeline System to salt dome storage at Loop’s Facility in Clovelly, LA.