Shell to Shut in Auger Platform to Complete Tie-in at Cardamom Field

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands, July 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Nearly two decades after setting a world water-depth record for drilling and production, Shell's (NYSE: RDS.A)(NYSE: RDS.B) Auger tension-leg platform is still playing a central and innovative role in the company's deep water Gulf of Mexico portfolio - currently producing some 55,000 barrels oil equivalent (boe) per day (Shell share ~30,000 boe per day), and acting in the future as the host platform for the Cardamom subsea development. The Cardamom discovery well also set records three years ago, for subsurface length and depth.

More than a half mile down, Shell is connecting Cardamom wells back to Auger -- work that will involve retrofitting the platform and a production shut-in at Auger, which should restart in the fourth quarter of 2013. Once online in 2014, Cardamom (100% Shell share) is expected to produce at a peak rate of 50,000 boe per day.

"The Gulf of Mexico remains an important part of Shell's portfolio and strategy, and it is expected to generate substantial growth over the next several years," said John Hollowell, Executive Vice President for Deep Water, Shell Upstream Americas. "Cardamom is a great example of using existing infrastructure to increase oil and gas production in a less capital intensive way."

In its lifetime, the Auger platform has produced more than 300 million boe.

Editors Notes:

• The Cardamom discovery is located in Garden Banks Block 427, approximately 362 kilometers (225 miles) south-west of New Orleans, Louisiana, in water more than 800 meters (2,720 feet) deep.
• The completed subsea system will include five well expandable manifolds, a dual 20-centimetre (8-inch) flowline, and eight well umbilicals.  
• Modifications to the Auger platform will include additional subsea receiving equipment, upgrade of an existing process train, and weight mitigation which are expected to increase the liquid handling, cooling and production capacities of the host facility.  
• Shell used advanced seismic imaging and extended reach drilling to discover Cardamom, and since the discovery, further advancements in seismic have allowed Shell to see beyond a subsurface salt layer to estimate Cardamom's full resource potential.  
• Shell drilled the Cardamom discovery well from the Auger TLP; the well features a measured depth of 9,642 meters (31,634 feet), a horizontal reach of more than 4,570 meters (15,000 feet), and a vertical depth greater than 7,620 meters (25,000 feet).
• The Cardamom exploration well has produced directly from the Auger platform since December, 2010. 

Cautionary Note

The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate entities. In this announcement "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 announcement refer to companies over which Royal Dutch Shell plc  either directly or indirectly has control. Companies over which Shell has joint control are generally referred to "joint ventures" and companies over which Shell has significant influence but neither control nor joint control are referred to as "associates". In this announcement, joint ventures and associates may also be 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 23% shareholding in Woodside Petroleum Ltd.) ownership interest held by Shell in a venture, partnership or company, after exclusion of all third-party interest.

This announcement 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'’, '‘goals'’, '‘intend'’, '‘may'’, '‘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 Royal Dutch Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this announcement, 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, 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; and (m) changes in trading conditions. All forward-looking statements contained in this announcement 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's 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2012 (available at http://www.shell.com/investorand http://www.sec.gov ). These risk factors also expressly qualify all forward looking statements contained in this announcement and should be considered by the reader.  Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this announcement, July 17, 2013. 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 announcement.

We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this announcement that United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our 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 http://www.sec.gov. You can also obtain these forms from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.

Enquiries:
Media:
Shell International Media Relations +44(0)207-934-5550
Shell Americas Media Relations +1-713-241-4544

Investor Relations:
North America +1-713-241-1042
International +31(0)70-377-4540

SOURCE Royal Dutch Shell plc

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