Talos Bolsters U.S. Offshore Oil & Gas Footprint with Shell Deal

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Written by Daniel Graeber for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

For a combined consideration of $1.7 billion, Shell is dumping its 50% stake in the Na Kika platform in the Gulf of Mexico. It's the company's only non-operated interest in U.S. territorial waters.

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Talos Ups Proved Reserves with Na Kika

Houston, Texas-based Talos Energy Incorporated said assets acquired from Shell plc in the U.S. territorial waters of the Gulf of Mexico would add 23 million barrels of oil equivalent to its proved reserves.

For a total consideration of $1.7 billion, Shell on Tuesday said it was selling off its 50% non-operating interest in the offshore Na Kika platform, and associated fields to subsidiaries of Talos Energy and Ridgewood Energy. The buyers also get a 50% working interest in Shell's fully-owned Coulomb Tieback subsea development, and a 25% working interest in Na Kika and the Kepler, Ariel, Fourier and Herschel fields. According to Industrial Info Resources data, there are seven active capital Talos Energy projects with a total investment value of $395 million.

BP plc, as operator of Na Kika, holds the remaining 50% working interest in Na Kika. Ridgewood Energy had no statement on the deal.

Na Kika is a semi-submersible platform situated in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. According to Industrial Info Resources data, the platform has a design capacity of 71,566 barrels per day (bpd). The platform is Shell's only non-operated platform in the Gulf of Mexico and production began in 2003. The Industrial Info Resources Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Production Plant Database offers a detailed profile of the deepwater platform.

For Talos, it expands on its already notable portfolio in U.S. territorial waters.

"The bolt-on is highly accretive, materially enhances free cash flow, and includes infrastructure-led exploration opportunities where our field life extension track record can unlock value beyond current reserves," said Paul Goodfellow, president and chief executive officer of Talos.

The transaction is expected to close before the end of the year.

Talos said its first-quarter production averaged around 64,000 bpd. It was also awarded 11 leases in the Gulf of Mexico during a December 2025 auction. The company took a loss during the first quarter due to lower crude oil prices.

Ridgewood Energy, which collaborated with Talos on the acquisition, had no statement on the deal. Shell, for its part, said the unloaded Gulf assets will not have a meaningful impact on its production by 2030.

What's it Mean for Shell?

"The Gulf of America is one of our highest-value basins, and we are actively shaping our portfolio to ensure our upstream business continues to be resilient and increasingly competitive," said Peter Costello, Shell's president of upstream operations. "We remain focused on sustaining our material liquids production into the next decade."

Shell has largely morphed into a natural gas and liquefied natural gas company since it acquired BG Group in 2015. Crude oil was not referenced once in its first quarter earnings report.

Shell posted a profit of about $5.7 billion on sales of $69.7 billion for the first quarter. Earnings were up about $900 million on a $400 million gain in revenue compared to the same period last year.

Shell's oil and gas production dipped slightly on an oil-equivalent basis compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, and the company said it expected further production declines this year.

With 1.98 million bpd expected this year, the U.S. territorial waters of the Gulf of Mexico are expected to account for around 14% of total U.S. oil production. Offshore production is expected to drop to 1.86 million bpd, federal data show.

Key Takeaways

• Shell sells its part of Na Kika to Talos Energy and Ridgewood Energy.
• Na Kika is a semi-submersible rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

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