Shell opts for production semisub at Appomattox

Nuts and bolts: workers carry out maintenance on Transocean’s Deepwater Nautilus, which is drilling a sidetrack of the latest appraisal at Appomattox. The field is set to be developed using a production semisub similar to the Na Kika unit.

Nuts and bolts: workers carry out maintenance on Transocean’s Deepwater Nautilus, which is drilling a sidetrack of the latest appraisal at Appomattox. The field is set to be developed using a production semisub similar to the Na Kika unit.

BLOOMBERG/REUTERS/SCANPIX

By Blake Wright Houston

 16 August 2012 22:59 GMT

ANGLO-Dutch supermajor Shell is moving forward with a development scheme for its 500 million-barrel-plus Appomattox discovery in the deep-water US Gulf that will use a semi-submersible floating production system without drilling.

Sources indicated that the facility will be reminiscent of the operator’s 50%-owned Na Kika FPS, but larger. Facility sizing is still to be determined as continued drilling at the field has proved up new reserves, but it is envisaged that throughput will exceed 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

A recent appraisal well encountered 400 feet of oil pay, according to partner Nexen.

The Canadian producer added that the results were on the high end of expectations for the probe. The well targeted appraisal of the south fault block of the three-fault…

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