Shell Offshore Inc., a subsidiary of Shell plc, has taken a final investment decision on a waterflood project at its Kaikias field in the U.S. Gulf.
The project will inject water to displace additional oil in the reservoir supplying production to Shell’s Ursa platform in the Mars Corridor of the Gulf of Mexico, renamed by the Trump administration as the Gulf of America.
Waterflooding is a secondary recovery method in which injected water sweeps displaced oil to adjacent production wells while re-pressurizing the reservoir. First injection is expected in 2028, and the project is anticipated to extend the production life of Ursa by several years.
“Following our decision to increase our stake in Ursa earlier this year, this additional investment continues to maximise the value of the asset,” said Peter Costello, Shell’s upstream president. “It also contributes to our aim of maximising high-margin production and longevity in a core basin to maintain liquids production.”
The Kaikias waterflood project is estimated to increase recoverable resource volumes by about 60 million metric barrels of oil equivalent on a P50 basis. The resources are currently classified as 2P under the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Resource Classification System. Estimated recoverable resources are stated as 100% total gross figures.
The Kaikias field was discovered in August 2014 in more than 4,000' of water about 130 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Production began in May 2018 with flowback to the Ursa platform. Shell operates the Ursa tension leg platform and holds a 61.3484% ownership interest, with BP Exploration & Production Inc. holding 22.6916% and ECP GOM III LLC holding 15.96%. Shell announced the acquisition of additional working interest in Ursa in February.
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