Shell plc has let an engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) contract to TechnipFMC for the Sparta development in the Gulf of Mexico. This will be Shell’s first EPCI contact to use high-pressure subsea production systems rated up to 20,000 psi (20K).
TechnipFMC will manufacture and install subsea production systems, umbilicals, risers, and flowlines.
Sparta, Shell's 15th deep water host in the Gulf of Mexico, will be the first of the operator’s gulf developments to produce from reservoirs with pressures up to 20,000 psi. It will feature a semi-submersible production host in a depth of more than 1,400 m (4,700 ft) of water, initially with eight oil and gas producing wells. The development is expected to reach a peak production of about 90,000 boe/d and currently has an estimated, discovered recoverable resource volume of 244 MMboe (OGJ Online, Dec. 19, 2023).
Production is scheduled to begin in 2028.
Shell Offshore Inc. is operator of Sparta with 51% interest. Equinor Gulf of Mexico LLC holds the remaining 49%.
Alex Procyk | Upstream Editor
Alex Procyk is Upstream Editor at Oil & Gas Journal. He has also served as a principal technical professional at Halliburton and as a completion engineer at ConocoPhillips. He holds a BS in chemistry (1987) from Kent State University and a PhD in chemistry (1992) from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).