Shell Exploration & Production Co. (SEPCo) said late Friday that its Crosby and Einset subsea fields located in the Gulf of Mexico are now online and sending production to their hub platforms. SEPCo indicated that the Crosby development is the first subsea tieback to Shell’s Ursa tension leg platform.

Production from the first of the three well Crosby development, located in Mississippi Canyon Blocks 898 and 899, began on Dec. 17, 2001. Currently, all three wells are online and producing 20,000 b/d of oil. The company estimated that peak production for Crosby will be approximately 60,000 b/d of oil and 90 MMcf/d of natural gas by the end of the first quarter of 2002.

Located about 160 miles southeast of New Orleans in approximately 4,400 feet of water, Crosby is operated by Shell, which has a 50% interest in the project. British Petroleum holds the remaining 50% interest. Using a dual flowline system, Crosby’s production is carried to Shell’s Ursa tension leg platform, 10 miles away on Mississippi Canyon Block 809 in 3,950 feet of water. Once all of Crosby’s wells are at peak production, Shell said it expects Ursa’s total platform production to increase to 170,000 b/d of oil.

“Like other subsea production systems that recently came online, Crosby is another example of SEPCo’s growth in the Gulf of Mexico and its aggressive development of its Mars Basin discoveries,” said Dave Lawrence, SEPCo vice president, Exploration & Development. “But, Crosby is the first field to begin production in the southern part of the Mars Basin. Ursa, Mars, King, and ultimately, Princess, are all located in the northern part of the Basin.”

The company estimated that development costs for Crosby at $298 million, excluding lease costs. Total gross ultimate recovery is estimated at more than 70 million boe.

Located in 3,500 feet of water, SEPCo’s Einset subsea development began producing on Dec. 29, 2001 and is currently producing at a rate of 30 MMcf/d. Located about 170 miles southeast of New Orleans in Viosca Knoll Block 872, the single well ties back to Shell’s Southeast Tahoe manifold in Viosca Knoll Block 784, which carries production 12 miles to Shell’s Bud Lite platform in Main Pass 252. By utilizing existing subsea infrastructure, Shell said it was able to accelerate Einset’s production startup.

Shell is the operator of Einset and is an equal partner on the project with Dominion Exploration & Production Inc. Einset is expected to recover in excess of 30 Bcf of gas with peak production expected to reach up to 60 MMcf/d.

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