Shell Plans Second Deep Water Production Hub in the Gulf's Prolific Mars Field
HOUSTON, Sept. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Shell Oil Company has made a Final Investment Decision for its Mars B deep water development, located approximately 130-miles south of New Orleans, Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. The development will include a second tension-leg platform, named "Olympus," to enhance recovery from the prolific Mars field. The new platform will also provide process infrastructure for two of Shell's recent deep water discoveries, West Boreas and South Deimos, and can potentially serve the nearby, rich exploration portfolio in the Gulf of Mexico.
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The tension-leg platform is a proven concept, which Shell first successfully executed in the early 90s for its Auger hub. Shell then followed with deep water, tension-leg platforms for its Mars ("A"), Ram-Powell, Ursa, and Brutus developments. First production from the Mars B Olympus platform is expected in 2015; the facility will be designed to process approximately 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Shell discovered the deep water Mars field in 1989. Production from this prolific field was first brought online in 1996 and has contributed to the Gulf of Mexico's position as a critical component of the US energy supply. The investment decision to design, construct, and install the Olympus platform extends the production life of the Mars field, for decades to come, and increases the oil and gas recovery from this strategic offshore asset.
"This significant investment decision demonstrates Shell's continued commitment to responsibly maximize deep water oil and gas recovery and make a positive impact on this country's domestic energy supply," said Marvin Odum, Upstream Americas Director and President, Shell Oil Company. "Responsible offshore operations remain our priority. It's imperative that this industry protects the millions of people it employs, its operating environment, and the critical energy resource. Shell's Olympus platform will build on our more than 15-years of safe offshore development and deep water expertise."
Shell will operate the Mars B Olympus tension-leg platform and currently holds a 71.5-percent working interest in the development. BP holds the remaining 28.5-percent working interest. In the Gulf of Mexico, the Mars B development will draw production from eight Mississippi Canyon blocks – 762, 763, 764, 805, 806, 807, 850 and 851.
Royal Dutch Shell plc
Royal Dutch Shell plc is incorporated in England and Wales, has its headquarters in The Hague and is listed on the London, Amsterdam, and New York stock exchanges. Shell companies have operations in more than 100 countries with businesses including oil and gas exploration and production, production and marketing of Liquefied Natural Gas and Gas to Liquids, manufacturing, marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals, and renewable energy projects including wind and solar power. For further information, visit www.shell.com and www.shell.us.
Cautionary Note
The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate entities. In this press release "Shell", "Shell group" and "Royal Dutch Shell" are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" are also used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies. ''Subsidiaries'', "Shell subsidiaries" and "Shell companies" as used in this press release refer to companies in which Royal Dutch Shell either directly or indirectly has control, by having either a majority of the voting rights or the right to exercise a controlling influence. The companies in which Shell has significant influence but not control are referred to as "associated companies" or "associates" and companies in which Shell has joint control are referred to as "jointly controlled entities". In this press release, associates and jointly controlled entities are also referred to as "equity-accounted investments". The term "Shell interest" is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect (for example, through our 34% shareholding in Woodside Petroleum Ltd.) ownership interest held by Shell in a venture, partnership or company, after exclusion of all third-party interest.
This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Royal Dutch Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Royal Dutch Shell to market risks and statements expressing management's expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as ''anticipate'', ''believe'', ''could'', ''estimate'', ''expect'', ''intend'', ''may'', ''plan'', ''objectives'', ''outlook'', ''probably'', ''project'', ''will'', ''seek'', ''target'', ''risks'', ''goals'', ''should'' and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Royal Dutch Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this press release, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for the Group's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserve estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including potential litigation and regulatory effects arising from recategorisation of reserves; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; and (m) changes in trading conditions. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional factors that may affect future results are contained in Royal Dutch Shell's 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2008 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov). These factors also should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release, September 28, 2010. Neither Royal Dutch Shell nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) permits oil and gas companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only proved reserves that a company has demonstrated by actual production or conclusive formation tests to be economically and legally producible under existing economic and operating conditions. We use certain terms in this press release that SEC's guidelines strictly prohibit us from including in filings with the SEC. U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov. You can also obtain these forms from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.
SOURCE Shell Oil Company
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