Shell takes FID on U.S. GoM Dover field

Written by Nick Blenkey
Shell has announced FID for Dover field in U.S. GoM

As the U.S. Department of the Interior continues to drag its heels in developing the next federal offshore oil and gas leasing program, Shell yesterday made an announcement that underscores the continuing importance of U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil and gas resources.

Shell Offshore Inc., a subsidiary of Shell plc announced the Final Investment Decision (FID) for Dover, a planned subsea tieback to the Shell-operated Appomattox production hub in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Dover is expected to start production in late 2024-early 2025 and produce up to 21,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) at peak rates.

Originally discovered in 2018, Dover is located within Mississippi Canyon, approximately 170 miles offshore southeast of New Orleans, Louisiana in about 7,500 feet of water.

“Shell is a pioneer in the Norphlet reservoir with Appomattox, and we are building on our leading position in the reservoir with Dover,” said Paul Goodfellow, Shell’s executive VP for Deepwater. “Last year we took FID on Rydberg, another subsea tieback to Appomattox, and Dover gives us an opportunity to add to our base in this prolific basin.”

Shell says its investment at Dover underscores its “long-term commitment to the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, where production has among the lowest greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity in the world for producing oil.”

“The reference to our U.S. Gulf of Mexico production having among the lowest GHG intensity in the world is a comparison among other IOGP oil-and gas-producing members,” Shell notes.

LOW GHG INTENSITY

The low GHG intensity of U.S. GoM oil and gas has led many to contrast the Department of the Interior’s slow marching of offshore oil and gas lease auctions with Norway’s policies of pulling out all the stops on everything green while continuing responsible development of its offshore oil and gas resources.

OMSA President Aaron Smith wrote an OpEd for us back in February 2021 that made that case, and the arguments he made then remain valid.

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