Shell-moves-to-water-injection-in-Gulf-of-Mexico

Shell moves to water injection in US Gulf of Mexico

USA

HOUSTON, August 15, 2024 – Shell Offshore, a subsidiary of Shell plc, has taken a FID on a project to inject water into the reservoir formation at its Vito asset in the US Gulf of Mexico to displace additional oil, the supermajor announced on Tuesday.

Waterflooding is a method of secondary recovery where injected water physically sweeps displaced oil to adjacent production wells while the reservoir is re-pressurized. Shell estimates that the Vito waterflood project will increase recoverable resource volume by 60 million boe.

“Over time, we’ve seen the benefits of waterflood as we look to fill our hubs in the Gulf of Mexico. This investment will deliver additional high-margin, lower-carbon barrels from our advantaged Upstream business while maximising our potential from Vito,” said Zoë Yujnovich, Shell’s integrated gas and upstream director.

The Vito field is located approximately 240 kilometres southeast of New Orleans and 16 miles south of the Shell-operated Mars TLP in water depths of around 1,200 metres. Shell is the operator with a 63.11% stake, with Norway’s Equinor holding the remaining 36.89% interest in the asset. The partners announced a FID for development in 2018 and first oil was achieved in 2023.

The water injection project is expected to begin in 2027.

Photo courtesy of Shell

Read our latest insights on: