Shell Begins Production at Whale in US Gulf of Mexico

Jan 9 (Reuters) – Oil and gas major Shell (SHEL.L) said on Thursday it had started production at the offshore floating facility Whale located in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Whale development is operated by Shell, which owns 60% of the project alongside U.S. energy major Chevron (CVX.N), which has a 40% stake. The project is expected to hit peak production of roughly 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd).

The development was discovered in 2017 and holds a recoverable resource volume of 480 million barrels of oil equivalent, Shell said.

Whale achieved first oil around seven years after the development was discovered, primarily due to a delay in reaching a final investment decision following a cash preservation strategy adopted by Shell during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Separately, Chevron said production from the Whale development would bring it closer to reaching 300,000 net boepd in the Gulf of Mexico by 2026.

The London-listed company has invested heavily in the prolific U.S. Gulf of Mexico. It has approved about 15 oil platforms in the region and holds ownership interest in several exploration and production projects.

Reporting by Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise

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