Shell commences GoM waterflood

July 7, 2008
Shell has started water injection at the Ursa/Princess Waterflood project. The project is expected to extend the life of the field by 10 years.

Offshore staff

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Shell has started water injection at the Ursa/Princess Waterflood project, which is expected to extend the life of the field by 10 years.

The Ursa/Princess Waterflood topsides injection system injects filtered and treated sea water via two separate flowlines to three subsea sites: an existing well site northwest of the Ursa TLP, an existing well site southeast of the Ursa, and a new well site northeast of the Ursa. Producing wells will include three Princess subsea wells and up to six Ursa wells.

"Ursa-Princess has produced nearly 400 MMboe to date and we believe potential exists for continued development of material oil and natural gas within this basin," says Russ Ford, VP technical, Shell Americas.

The Ursa/Princess Waterflood is one of the largest construction projects on an existing platform in the GoM. The facility located 100 mi (161 km) offshore in 3,800 ft (1,158 m) of water and encompasses Mississippi Canyon blocks 808, 809, 810, 852, 853 and 854. Princess is located in Mississippi Canyon blocks 765 and 766, in approximately 3,650 ft (1,113 m) of water.

Shell is operator of this project with 45.39%; BP E&P Inc. has 22.69%; Exxon Mobil Corp., and ConocoPhillips Co. each have 15.96% interest.

07/07/2008