Shell adds another deep-water discovery in the Perdido Corridor of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico

News provided by

Dec 08, 2021, 08:30 ET

HOUSTON, Dec. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Shell Offshore Inc. ("Shell"), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, today announced a material discovery at the Blacktip North prospect in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The Blacktip North well encountered approximately 300 feet net oil pay at multiple levels. Evaluation is ongoing to further define development options.

"The Blacktip North prospect is the latest example of discovering new resources in our advantaged corridors," said Paul Goodfellow, Executive Vice President of Deep Water. "Our strategic positions, like the Perdido Corridor, are at the heart of value creation in the Gulf of Mexico, and they represent an opportunity to use our existing infrastructure to unlock the full-value potential of our discoveries."

Blacktip, Blacktip North, and our Leopard discoveries are all opportunities to increase production in the Perdido Corridor, where Shell's Great White, Silvertip and Tobago fields are already producing. Earlier this year, Shell announced a final investment decision for the Whale deep-water development, also located in the Perdido Corridor. Whale is part of our Gulf of Mexico portfolio, where our production is among the lowest greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity in the world for producing oil.

Blacktip North is located in OCS block Alaminos Canyon (AC) 336, approximately 4.5 miles northeast of the recently appraised Blacktip discovery, 25 miles northeast of the recently announced Leopard discovery, 30 miles northeast of the planned Whale host, and 42 miles from the Perdido host.

Shell's Powering Progress strategy to thrive through the energy transition includes increasing investment in lower-carbon energy solutions, while continuing to pursue the most energy-efficient and highest-return Upstream investments. We will support this strategy through Exploration by sustaining a strong pipeline of high-value, nearfield and core discoveries, complemented by highly selective frontier plays.

Notes to editors

The Blacktip North Discovery is ~220 miles SSE of Houston.
The Blacktip North well was drilled to a total measured depth of 27,770 feet.
Blacktip North is operated by Shell Offshore Inc (89.49%) and co-owned by Repsol E&P USA LLC (10.51%).
Shell began production in the Perdido Corridor at the Perdido Spar in 2010.
Shell is a leading operator in US Gulf of Mexico, with eight DW production hubs and a network of subsea infrastructure.
Shell is the largest deep-water lease holder in the US Gulf of Mexico with access to some of the most prolific acreage in the basin.
The reference to our U.S. Gulf of Mexico production being among the lowest GHG intensity in the world is a comparison among other IOGP oil and gas producing members.

Cautionary note
The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this press release "Shell", "Shell Group" and "Group" 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 Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These terms are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular entity or entities. ''Subsidiaries'', "Shell subsidiaries" and "Shell companies" as used in this press release refer to entities over which Royal Dutch Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. Entities and unincorporated arrangements over which Shell has joint control are generally referred to as "joint ventures" and "joint operations", respectively. Entities over which Shell has significant influence but neither control nor joint control are referred to as "associates". The term "Shell interest" is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in an entity or unincorporated joint arrangement, after exclusion of all third-party interest.

This press release contains forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of 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 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 "aim", "ambition", ''anticipate'', ''believe'', ''could'', ''estimate'', ''expect'', ''goals'', ''intend'', ''may'', "milestones", ''objectives'', ''outlook'', ''plan'', ''probably'', ''project'', ''risks'', "schedule", ''seek'', ''should'', ''target'', ''will'' and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of 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 Shell's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves 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, judicial, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (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; (m) risks associated with the impact of pandemics, such as the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak; and (n) changes in trading conditions. No assurance is provided that future dividend payments will match or exceed previous dividend payments. 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 risk factors that may affect future results are contained in Royal Dutch Shell plc's Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2020 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov). These risk factors also expressly qualify all forward-looking statements contained in this press release and should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release, December 8, 2021. Neither Royal Dutch Shell plc 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 contents of websites referred to in this press release do not form part of this release.

We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this press release that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC. 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.

SOURCE Shell Offshore Inc.