Shell Redeveloping Penguins Field in U.K. North Sea

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Norwegian oil and gas major Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS.A) (The Hague, Netherlands) has announced plans to go ahead with the $1.1 billion redevelopment of the Penguins oil and gas field in the U.K. North Sea.

The final investment decision authorises the construction of a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel--the first new manned installation for Shell in the northern North Sea in almost 30 years.

Industrial Info is tracking three projects: the construction of the FPSO, subsea infrastructure installation and the production drilling platform. Shell classed the investment as an "attractive opportunity with a competitive go-forward break-even price below $40 per barrel." At peak production, the FPSO will be capable of producing 45,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d).

"Penguins demonstrates the importance of Shell's North Sea assets to the company's upstream portfolio," said Andy Brown, Upstream Director. "It is another example of how we are unlocking development opportunities, with lower costs, in support of Shell's transformation into a world class investment case."

The Penguins field currently processes oil and gas using four existing drill centres tied back to the Brent Charlie platform. The redevelopment of Penguins will see an additional eight wells drilled that will be tied back to the new FPSO vessel after the Brent Charlie platform ceases production. Oil will be transported via tanker to refineries. Shell said that natural gas will be exported through the tie-in of existing subsea facilities and additional pipeline infrastructure, such as the FLAGS pipeline to the St. Fergus gas terminal in northeast Scotland.

The Penguins field lies in 165 metres (541 feet) of water, approximately 150 miles northeast of the Shetland Islands. Discovered in 1974, the field was first developed in 2002 and is a joint venture between Shell (50% and operator) and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) (ExxonMobil) (Irving, Texas) (50%). A joint venture-owned/Shell-operated Sevan 400 FPSO has been selected as the development option for the field.

Steve Phimister, vice president for Upstream in the U.K. and Ireland said: "Shell has had a strong presence in this part of the northern North Sea for more than 40 years. Having reshaped our portfolio over the last 12 months, we now plan to grow our North Sea production through our core production assets. In doing so, we will continue to work with the U.K. government, our partners and the regulator to maximise the economic recovery in one of Shell's heartlands."

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