Shell Offshore Inc. on Monday pulled the trigger to develop Whale, its 12th deepwater host in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), which could see peak production of 100,000 boe/d.

Shell Production

The Alaminos Canyon field in Block 773, about 200 miles southwest of Houston, was discovered in 2017. The Royal Dutch Shell plc subsidiary operates the field with a 60% interest; Chevron U.S.A. Inc. has a 40% stake. Ramp-up is set for 2024.

“Whale is the latest demonstration of our focus on simplification, replication and capital projects with shorter cycle times to drive greater value from our advantaged positions,” said Shell Upstream director Wael Sawan. “We are building on more than 40 years of deepwater expertise to deliver competitive projects that yield high-margin barrels so that we are able to...