Shell Offshore Inc has made a significant discovery at the Leopard prospect in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico, approximately 245 miles SSE of Houston. The Leopard well encountered more than 600 feet (183m) net oil pay at multiple levels.
“Leopard expands our leading position in the Gulf of Mexico and is an exciting addition to our core portfolio, especially given its proximity to existing infrastructure and other discoveries in the Perdido Corridor,” said Paul Goodfellow, Shell’s deepwater executive vice-president.
Leopard, which is operated by Shell (50%) and co-owned by Chevron USA (50%), is an opportunity to increase production in the Perdido Corridor, where Shell’s Great White, Silvertip and Tobago fields are already producing. Meanwhile, the Whale discovery, also in the Perdido Corridor, is progressing toward a final investment decision in 2021.
Leopard is in OCS block Alaminos Canyon (AC) 691, approximately 20 miles (32km) east of the Whale discovery, 20 miles (32km) south of the recently appraised Blacktip discovery and 33 miles (53km) from the Perdido host.
“With our US Gulf of Mexico production among the lowest GHG intensity in the world, Shell remains confident about the GoM and this latest discovery will help us deliver on our strategy to focus on valuable, high margin barrels as we sustain material Upstream cash flows into the 2030s.”
Shell began production in the Perdido Corridor at the Perdido Spar in 2010. It is a leading operator in the US Gulf of Mexico, with eight DW production hubs and a network of subsea infrastructure. It is also the largest deep-water leaseholder in the US Gulf of Mexico, with access to some of the most prolific acreage in the basin.
Evaluation is ongoing to further define development options. For more information visit: www.shell.com
