Deepest Subsea Oil & Gas Well
Yesterday, Shell started producing oil from the world’s deepest subsea well at its Perdido Development. The record well is located in the Tobago field 200 miles southwest of Houston in the ultra-deep water of the Gulf of Mexico. The enhanced vertical deepwater tree (EVDT) system of FMC Technologies has set the new deepwater completion record of 9,627 ft (2,934 m) and previously held by Shell at the Silvertip field in the Perdido development at 9,356 ft.
FMC Technologies’ EVDT offers operators a global standard for vertical completion systems and contains a number of innovative features that provide versatility, installation savings and operational efficiencies in deepwater fields. “Our strong and longstanding alliance with Shell has played a key role in our ability to develop subsea processing solutions while advancing the industry’s deepwater production capabilities”, said John Gremp, chairman, president and chief executive officer of FMC Technologies. “We are proud to have been a part of this record-setting effort and look forward to continuing our support of Shell on this and other projects.”
Tobago
Tobago is jointly owned by Shell (32.5%, as operator), Chevron (57.5%), and Nexen (10.0%) and is one of three fields producing through the Perdido drilling and production platform. “Energy is fundamental to global economic growth. Providing this energy must be met practically, safely and in an environmentally responsible manner”, said Marvin Odum, Shell’s Upstream Americas director. “Through our highly skilled workforce and cadre of global geoscientists, Shell has applied its advanced seismic and drilling technologies at Perdido to produce additional sources of oil and gas.”
Two Million Households
Moored in about 8,000 ft of water, the Perdido platform is jointly owned by Shell (33.34%), BP (33.33%) and Chevron (33.33%) and is the deepest drilling and production facility in the world with a capacity to handle 100,000 barrels of oil per day and 200 million standard cubic feet of gas per day. From Perdido, Shell accesses the Great White, Tobago, and Silvertip oil and gas fields through subsea wells directly below the facility and from wells up to seven miles away. At its peak, Perdido can produce enough energy to meet the needs of more than two million US households. Shell operates Perdido and its satellite fields on behalf of partners Chevron, Nexen, and BP. Perdido produced its first oil and gas on March 31, 2010.