Shell announced Wednesday it has made a significant discovery at the deepwater Blacktip prospect in the Alaminos Canyon Block 380 in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
The discovery is located in approximately 1,900 meters water depth in the Alaminos Canyon Block 380, about 400 kilometers south of Houston.
Blacktip is operated by Shell (52.375%) and co-owned by Chevron (20%), Equinor (19.125%) and Repsol (8.5%).
Drilling is still underway and has to date encountered more than 122 meters net oil pay with good reservoir and fluid characteristics. The well is currently being deepened to further assess the structure’s potential. Evaluation is ongoing and appraisal planning is underway to further delineate the discovery and define development options, Shell said.
“Blacktip is Shell’s second material discovery in the Perdido Corridor and is part of a continuing exploration strategy to add competitive deepwater options to extend our heartlands,” said Andy Brown, Upstream Director for Royal Dutch Shell.
Blacktip is a Wilcox discovery in the Perdido thrust belt and was discovered approximately 30 miles from the Perdido platform and Whale discovery. Shell said the find presents the opportunity to augment existing production in the Perdido area where the supermajor’s Great White, Silvertip and Tobago fields are already producing.
This discovery adds to Shell’s Paleogene exploration success in the Perdido area. Through exploration, Shell has added more than one billion barrels of oil equivalent in the last decade in the Gulf of Mexico. The company said its global deepwater production is on track to exceed 900,000 boe per day by 2020, from already discovered, established areas.