Shell Offshore Inc., a subsidiary of Shell plc, has announced the Final Investment Decision (FID) for the Sparta deep-water development in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The project is owned by Shell Offshore Inc. (51% operator) and Equinor Gulf of Mexico LLC (49%). Sparta is expected to reach a peak production of approximately 90,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) and has an estimated recoverable resource volume of 244 million boe. It is scheduled to begin production in 2028.
Sparta is a demonstration of Shell's cost-efficient development approach through standardized, simplified host designs. It replicates about 95% of the hull and 85% of the topsides of the Whale development, which itself was a replication of the Vito development. Zoë Yujnovich, Shell's Integrated Gas & Upstream Director, stated that the investment decision is aligned with the company's commitment to pursue energy-efficient and competitive projects.
The Sparta development will be the first of Shell's replicable projects to feature all-electric topside compression equipment, which will significantly reduce greenhouse gas intensity and emissions from the company's operations. It will also be Shell's first development in the Gulf of Mexico to produce from reservoirs with pressures up to 20,000 pounds per square inch.
Sparta will be located in the Garden Banks area of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and will feature a semi-submersible production host in a depth of more than 1,400m/4,700ft of water, initially with eight oil and gas producing wells. The design closely replicates the Vito and Whale designs, both of which are four-column semi-submersible host facilities. Vito began production in February 2023, while Whale is scheduled to come online in 2024.
Shell is the leading operator in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.