Production has begun from the Shell-operated Stones development in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GoM), the company said in a news release.
Production is expected to reach about 50,000 boe/d by year-end 2017.
The host facility for the world’s deepest offshore oil and gas project is an FPSO vessel, which produces through subsea infrastructure beneath 9,500 feet of water, Shell said in a news release. Designed to operate safely during storms, the FPSO can disconnect and sail away from the field. Once the weather event has passed, the vessel would return and safely resume production.
In addition, Shell said the project features a cost-effective well design, which requires fewer materials and lowers installation costs. The design could deliver up to $1 billion reduction in well costs once all the producers are completed.
The field is in the Lower Tertiary geologic frontier of the GoM.
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