STOCK WATCH:
The Shell-operated Perdido Hub has become the first development in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico to commercially produce oil and gas from the so-called Lower Tertiary trend, an emerging frontier play that could hold billions of barrels of recoverable oil and be a key contributor to U.S. energy supplies in coming years.
The $3 billion Perdido project, more than a decade in the making, came onstream on March 31, producing from three “ultra-deepwater” fields and boasting several industry firsts. Other companies with acreage positions in the Lower Tertiary no doubt will be keeping a close watch on Perdido’s performance.
The Perdido complex will handle production from the Great White, Silvertip and Tobago fields, which are located about 200 miles south of Freeport, Texas. It is designed to produce 100,000 barrels of oil per day and 200,000 cubic feet of natural gas per day.
Tethered in nearly 8,000 feet of water, Perdido is the world’s deepest offshore oil and gas drilling and production spar and is 60 miles beyond any existing developments in the U.S. Gulf. The cylindrical-shaped structure is nearly as tall as the Eiffel Tower.
President Obama’s six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling following a rig explosion, fire and continuing leak from a ruptured exploration well in the Gulf of Mexico may end up causing more harm than good, resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in oilfield service revenues from idled rigs.
“The immediate impacts of the order will be felt by the families of tens of thousands of offshore workers who will be unemployed,” said Burt Adams, chairman of the National Ocean Industries Association.
