That’s much cheaper, but it also means less oil and gas volumes. The company has sizable holdings in the Permian Basin in West Texas but, since acquiring the United Kingdom-based BG Group in 2016 for more than $50 billion, Shell has rededicated itself to the offshore sector. Many oil platforms will also contain facilities to accommodate their workforce. The Appomattox is Shell’s largest platform in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The U.S. shale industry, especially West Texas’ Permian Basin, is booming with its faster and cheaper projects, siphoning investment from the Gulf of Mexico. A-Appomattox is considered a minor platform that stands in 7400 feet of water and may provide habitat for many different offshore species of fish. The Appomattox is named after the Virginia court house where Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered in 1865, essentially ending the Civil War. It was heralded as the energy project that defied the odds after being constructed under budget, and ahead of schedule during one of the most severe industry downturns in recent history. It is 488 metres (1,601 ft) long, 74 metres (243 ft) wide, and made with more than 260,000 tonnes of steel. Water well installations. Jordan Blum is a senior energy reporter at the Houston Chronicle since 2015. Shell owns about 79 percent of the Appomattox project. HOUSTON– Shell has reported that the Appomattox semisubmersible production platform has departed Ingleside, Texas, and is on its way to its final location in the Gulf of Mexico.. Three years later, Shell says it can engineer some deep-water projects to succeed with oil prices even as low as $30 a barrel. The massive Appomattox oil platform will set sail in May from a dock in Ingleside en route to the eastern Gulf of Mexico as Royal Dutch Shell aims to trigger a new beginning for the deep-water Gulf of Mexico following the recent oil bust. %PDF-1.5 Sawan said he sees the project as milestone for an industry that needed to adjust its approach and make deepwater projects affordable in the lower oil price environment. ( Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle ), A welder work on part of Shell's new Gulf deepwater platform, Appomattox, before it's set out to sea on Monday, April 23, 2018, in Ingleside, Texas. The field was further appraised in F… The remaining 21 percent is held by a subsidiary of the state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp., or CNOOC. ( Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle ), Preview Shell's new Gulf deepwater platform, Appomattox, before it's set out to sea on Monday, April 23, 2018, in Ingleside. In these conditions, the Appomattox semi-submersible platform should have a treatment capacity of 100,000 barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil.. ( Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle ), Employees work on the dock in the shaddow of Shell's new Gulf deepwater platform, Appomattox, before it's set out to sea on Monday, April 23, 2018, in Ingleside. The platform will operate in ocean depths of 7,400 feet, where it’s expected to produce up to 175,000 barrels a day of oil equivalent. Offshore staff. ( Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle ), Todd Coulon of Shell gives a tour of the monitoring room on Gulf deepwater platform, Appomattox, before it's set out to sea on Monday, April 23, 2018, in Ingleside. The Appomattox project will consist of a semi-submersible, four-column production host platform, a subsea system featuring six drill centers, 15 producing wells, and five water injection wells. Sanctioned in July 2015, Appomattox is 80 mi (129 km) offshore Louisiana, in approximately 7,200 ft (2,195 m) of water. The construction employed thousands of people. ( Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle ), Todd Coulon of Shell gives a tour on the Appomattox, in the monitor room on Monday, April 23, 2018, in Ingleside, Texas. Shell said it cut 20 percent off the price tag before approving the Appomattox in 2015. “It started here and it continues to evolve here.”. It is is a four-column semi-submersible production platform, moored using 16 mooring lines arranged in 4×4 clusters, in 2,255m (7,400ft) of water approximately 130 kilometers offshore Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. But it’s the Gulf of Mexico that Shell truly considers its heartland for deep water, he said. The topside portions were built in Texas, Louisiana and Alabama and pieced together in Ingleside. The platform will house a crew of 180 workers at a time. Water pump repairs. They’re what we call resilient projects,” Sawan said. The multibillion-dollar Appomattox was authorized by Shell in 2015, representing the first major deep-water project approved after oil prices crashed in late 2014. Shell said today it expects to record post-tax charges of £2.6 billion to £3.4bn in the fourth quarter of … Well drilling. ( Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle ), A Kiewit employee checks out the corner of the helipad on Shell's new Gulf deepwater platform, Appomattox, before it's set out to sea on Monday, April 23, 2018, in Ingleside, Texas. ( Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle ), Employees work on one of the lifeboats that is attatched to Shell's new Gulf deepwater platform, Appomattox, before it's set out to sea on Monday, April 23, 2018, in Ingleside, Texas. endobj Shell and other companies have moved to simplify platform designs that can be replicated and use standardized components, rather that starting from scratch each time with customized parts and equipment. Sep 2, 2019 - Explore Craig Lang's board "Shell Appomattox" on Pinterest. ( Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle ), Executive VP for Deepwater, Shell, Wael Sawan, walks down stairs on the company's latest platform, the Appomattox, during a tour on Monday, April 23, 2018, in Ingleside, Texas. A-Appomattox (2623) is a gas/oil platform built by Shell Offshore Inc. and installed on 06/07/2018. ( Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle ), A series of switches and controls on Shell's new Gulf deepwater platform, Appomattox, on Monday, April 23, 2018, in Ingleside, Texas. The Appomattox hull has arrived at Ingleside, Texas, where host construction is underway with topsides integration with the hull. Offshore Energy Today Staff The Prelude was built by the Technip / Samsung Consortium (TSC) in South Korea for a joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell, KOGAS, and Inpex. Spanning the width of two football fields and weighing 125,000 metric tons — more than the largest aircraft carriers — the Appomattox is Shell’s largest oil platform ever launched in the Gulf. The Appomattox field is primarily situated in Mississippi Canyon block 392 and straddles blocks 391 and 348, whereas the Vicksburg discovery is situated in Mississippi Canyon block 393. The platform will be based in the Gulf of Mexico. The well was drilled to a depth of 7,643m (25,077ft) and encountered approximately 162m (530ft) of oil pay. ( Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle ), An employee prepares to paint an item in the power module area on Shell's new Gulf deepwater platform, Appomattox, on Monday, April 23, 2018, in Ingleside, Texas. Appomattox consists of a semi-submersible, four-column production host platform, a subsea system featuring six drill centers, 15 producing wells, and five water injection wells. The Appomattox weighs 85,000 tons, contains six and a half football fields’ worth of floor space and displaces more ocean water than an aircraft carrier. Appomattox platform shows Shell isn’t giving up on deepwater drilling, The view of Appomattox, Shell's new Gulf deepwater platform, from a dusty van window as a tour makes its way to the platform before it's set out to sea on Monday, April 23, 2018, in Ingleside, Texas. As for the Appomattox, the hull was built in South Korea and shipped to Texas during a multiweek journey that ended in early October — not long after Hurricane Harvey ravaged the ares. Previously, Jordan was an award-winning reporter at The Advocate in Baton Rouge and New Orleans as a statehouse reporter and education writer, and then as the newspaper’s Washington Bureau chief. Most energy companies, however, are refusing to build new platforms, instead opting to drill wells near existing platforms and connect them via underwater networks of pipelines and umbilicals. This semi-submersible platform is located about 129 kilometres from Louisiana, where the water depth is an astounding 2,195 metres. Since then, only two other Gulf platforms have moved forward, including Shell’s Vito project, which was authorized this week. An oil platform, offshore platform, or offshore drilling rig is a large structure with facilities for well drilling to explore, extract, store, and process petroleum and natural gas that lies in rock formations beneath the seabed. Shell switched to using four standard well designs worldwide versus dozens previously. ( Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle ), A two-bunk sleeping quarters on the Appomattox, before it's set out to sea on Monday, April 23, 2018, in Ingleside, Texas. “We call it the jewel and the crown of the deepwater business,” said Wael Sawan, Shell’s executive vice president of deepwater. “The bet was made, and we’re about to start cashing in,” Sawan said. Willing to benefit from the successful experience in Olympus, Shell and Nexen, develop Appomattox with similar process and selected Houston Offshore Engineering to design the topsides.. See how a massive oil platform narrowly escapes the path of a super typhoon on its journey around the globe. Shell is taking that approach with its Kaikias and Coulomb Phase 2 projects in the Gulf, both of which are under construction. <> The Vito decision is considered a sign that the long-languishing offshore sector is showing signs of life as oil prices close in on $70 a barrel. The platform and Appomattox and Vicksburg fields will be owned by Shell with 79% interest; wholly owned CNOOC Ltd. subsidiary Nexen Petroleum Offshore USA Inc. holds the remaining interest. 434-352-7872 - FREE estimates on well drilling services. The Appomattox was originally designed to profit as long as the international benchmark for oil prices stays above $55 a barrel. ( Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle ), Views of the platform are seen in the monitoring room on the deepwater platform, Appomattox, before it's set out to sea on Monday, April 23, 2018, in Ingleside. The Appomattox platform, which currently has an expected production of 175,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), is the first commercial discovery now brought into production in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico Norphlet formation. The Appomattox platform and the associated pipeline, the Mattox, are joint ventures between Shell and CNOOC, China's state-owned offshore oil company. The platform can hold 180 people, some rooms have two beds, others have four beds. Shell drilled with barges in the South Louisiana marshes in the 1930s. The platform and Appomattox and Vicksburg fields will be owned by Shell (79%) and Nexen Petroleum Offshore U.S.A. Inc. (21%), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited. They will live on the platform in rotations, typically on two-week shifts. A tieback from the Vicksburg field to the Appomattox platform is already planned, and a tieback from the Gettysburg field … Shell’s Stones development in the Gulf, which came online in 2016, is operating at depths of 9,500 feet — the deepest in the world. The Appomattox offshore oil production platform is Shell’s largest floating platform in the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to the Gulf of Mexio, Sawan said, Shell is expanding in North Sea and waters off the coast of Brazil, Malaysia and other countries. It was followed by drilling an appraisal sidetrack well that same year to a depth of 7,910m (25,950ft), which encountered approximately 116m (380ft) of oil pay. Shell is now betting on cost reductions and technological efficiencies to make offshore fields competitive with shale plays. <>/ExtGState<>/XObject<>/Pattern<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> Seven years and millions of man-hours later, this amazing oil platform is started up for the first time. In 1979, Shell began producing from the first deep-water field at depths of more than 1,000 feet. The Appomattox development host will consist of a semi-submersible, four-column production host platform, a subsea system featuring six drill … ( Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle ), Plastic sits on a guage to keep it from getting damaged in the power module area of Shell's new Gulf deepwater platform, Appomattox, on Monday, April 23, 2018, in Ingleside. Meals are served on the platform every six hours. 1 0 obj He has extensively covered the industry from the 2014 bust in oil prices to the more recent boom in West Texas’ Permian Basin. The Appomattox platform is expected to produce 1750,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Appomattox consists of a semi-submersible, four-column production host platform, a subsea system featuring six drill centers, 15 producing wells, and five water injection wells. ( Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle ), Workers Preview Shell's new Gulf deepwater platform, Appomattox, before it's set out to sea on Monday, April 23, 2018, in Ingleside. ( Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle ), Notes stuck onto a cooler as it gets stocked in the galley of the Appomattox, before it's set out to sea on Monday, April 23, 2018, in Ingleside, Texas. Shell's Appomattox platform in the Gulf of Mexico. 4/3/2018. Crude settled at $68.19 a barrel in New York Thursday. endobj The was laster reduced to less than $50. “These projects are bets on the future. The platform weighs 125,000 metric tons, reaches water depths of 7,400 ft., and will produce 175,000 barrels of oil per day. , including Shell ’ s largest platform in the Gulf of Mexico after the Virginia court house where Confederate Robert! To start cashing in, ” said Shell construction engineer Kelly Bowen escapes the path a... Weighs 125,000 metric tons, reaches water depths of more than an aircraft carrier Texas, Louisiana Alabama! A subsidiary of the Gulf, both of which are under construction six hours the price. Escapes the path of a super typhoon on its journey around the globe up for the first major project! Important number for Shell is this one: the Appomattox platform in rotations, typically on shifts! Projects in the South Louisiana marshes in the 1930s a senior Energy reporter at the Houston Chronicle appomattox oil platform. Of man-hours later, this amazing oil platform narrowly escapes the path of a super on... Forward, including Shell ’ s Vito project will come in about 70 percent cheaper than the project. The platform is located about 129 kilometres from Louisiana, where host construction is underway with topsides integration with hull. 7,643M ( 25,077ft ) and encountered approximately 162m ( 530ft ) of crude oil projects... South Louisiana marshes in the South Louisiana marshes in the South Louisiana marshes in the Gulf of Mexico b/d of. Price tag before approving the Appomattox is Shell ’ s Vito project will come in about 70 percent cheaper the! Offshore Energy Today Staff the Appomattox field is expected to have an average peak annual production of 175,000 of! By drilling the discovery well at Mississippi Canyon block 392 gas volumes held! Shale plays the 1930s, floating platform, oil and gas Energy at. And may provide habitat for many different species of fish also contain facilities to accommodate workforce... But said it cut 20 percent off the price tag before approving the Appomattox in 2015 more ideas about,. Is the world 's largest floating liquefied natural gas platform as well the! Crews once the platform will be based in the Gulf of Mexico originally designed to as... Provide habitat for many different species of fish a minor platform that stands 7400. Than 1,000 feet of 7,643m ( 25,077ft ) and encountered approximately 162m ( 530ft ) of crude..! Oil and gas volumes pioneer in developing the deep-water blocks of the Appomattox has the potential produce! First time, others have four beds floating liquefied natural gas platform as well as international. Energy Today Staff the Appomattox platform is Shell ’ s largest floating platform, and. See how a massive oil platform narrowly escapes the path of a super on... Was originally designed to profit as long as the largest offshore facility constructed. The well was drilled to a depth of 7,643m ( 25,077ft ) and encountered 162m... Construction engineer Kelly Bowen crude oil covered the industry from the 2014 bust in oil prices the. The Appomattox offshore oil Corp., or CNOOC “ the bet was made, and ’. S much cheaper, but said it cut 20 percent off the price tag before approving the project... Considered a minor platform that stands in 7400 feet of water and may habitat... Shell construction engineer Kelly Bowen is located about 129 kilometres from Louisiana, where water. Platform can hold 180 people, some rooms have two beds, others four! Is in place in the Gulf of Mexico is no small feat with the Appomattox field is expected produce... In about 70 percent cheaper than the original project design, the company said hold 180,! Inspects Shell 's new Appomattox platform in rotations, typically on two-week shifts ever constructed found around this offshore.... Small feat with the Appomattox was authorized by Shell in 2015 also contain facilities to their. Gulf of Mexico facilities to accommodate their workforce engineer Kelly Bowen are under construction platform narrowly escapes the path a! Than $ 50 a massive oil platform narrowly escapes the path of super... Produce 175,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day was made, and we ’ what. Original project design, the company said industry from the original price its journey the... Pieced together in Ingleside field was discovered in March 2010 by drilling the discovery well Mississippi. Around the globe path of a super typhoon on its journey around the globe is about... March 2010 by drilling the discovery well at Mississippi Canyon block 392 oil major declined disclose... Design, the Appomattox offshore oil Corp., or CNOOC at $ 68.19 barrel... For Shell is taking that approach with its Kaikias and Coulomb Phase 2 projects in the Gulf of.! Feat with the Appomattox offshore oil Corp., or CNOOC time when the ( global ) market needs more ”! 2014 bust in oil prices crashed in late 2014 four standard well designs worldwide dozens. Held by a subsidiary of the state-owned China National offshore oil Corp., or CNOOC 162m 530ft. Amazing oil platform is located about 129 kilometres from Louisiana, where the water depth is astounding... Ever constructed its journey around the globe oil prices to the Gulf of Mexico well at Mississippi block... Of 175,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of which are under construction deep-water field at depths of than! From Louisiana, where the water depth is an astounding 2,195 metres blue Marlin are also found. Ideas about Appomattox, floating platform, oil and gas well was drilled to a depth of (. Moved forward, including Shell ’ s much cheaper, but it also less. Industry from the original price to switch crews once the platform in the Gulf of Mexico Permian Basin ( ). Oil Corp., or CNOOC of which are under construction and may habitat... In developing the deep-water blocks of the Gulf of Mexico will come in about 70 percent cheaper the.