Shell finds oil at Blacktip North in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico

Dec. 8, 2021
Shell Offshore Inc. has made an oil discovery at the Blacktip North prospect in Alaminos Canyon block 336 in the US Gulf of Mexico.

Offshore staff

HOUSTON Shell Offshore Inc. has made an oil discovery at the Blacktip North prospect in Alaminos Canyon block 336 in the US Gulf of Mexico.

The Blacktip North well encountered about 300 ft (91 m) net oil pay at multiple levels. Evaluation is ongoing to further define development options.

The Transocean ultra-deepwater drillship Deepwater Poseidon drilled the well, Shell confirmed in an email to Offshore. It was drilled to a total measured depth of 27,770 ft (8,443 m).

Blacktip North is operated by Shell Offshore Inc. (89.49%) and co-owned by Repsol E&P USA LLC (10.51%).

The Blacktip North discovery is ~220 mi (354 km) south-southeast of Houston. It is about 4.5 mi (7.2 km) northeast of the recently appraised Blacktip discovery, 25 mi (40 km) northeast of the Leopard discovery, 30 mi (48 km) northeast of the planned Whale host, and 42 mi (68 km) from the Perdido host.

The Blacktip, Blacktip North, and Leopard discoveries are in the Perdido Corridor, where Shell’s Great White, Silvertip, and Tobago fields are already producing. Earlier this year, Shell announced a final investment decision for the Whale deepwater development, also in the Perdido Corridor.

Paul Goodfellow, executive vice president of Deep Water, said: “The Blacktip North prospect is the latest example of discovering new resources in our advantaged corridors. Our strategic positions, like the Perdido Corridor, are at the heart of value creation in the Gulf of Mexico, and they represent an opportunity to use our existing infrastructure to unlock the full-value potential of our discoveries.”

12/08/2021