Shell has taken over the ownership of the FPSO Turritella, moored at the Stones field in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
The takeover, ending an operational transition period, follows a previously announced agreement with the SBM Offshore-led consortium owning the FPSO.
“Both companies have worked successfully together to ensure a safe and controlled handover of operations,” SBM Offshore, the world’s largest FPSO supplier said in Tuesday.
The FPSO Turritella is being used to produce oil from Shell’s Stones field in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, considered the world’s deepest FPSO development.
In previous statements SBM Offshore said the acquisition would allow Shell to assume operatorship of the Stones development in its entirety, creating additional efficiencies through integration of sub-sea to surface operations and allowing leverage of its optimized Gulf of Mexico organization and infrastructure.
Shell paid around $1 billion for the acquisition. The FPSO Turritella has been on hire since September 2, 2016 and forms an early phase in Shell’s Stones development.
The Stones development is located in 2,896 meters (9,500 feet) of water approximately 320 kilometers (200 miles) offshore Louisiana in the Walker Ridge area.
FPSO Turritella is the deepest FPSO development in the world and has a turret with a disconnectable buoy allowing it to weathervane in normal conditions and disconnect from the FPSO upon the approach of a hurricane.
Offshore Energy Today Staff