Oil Giants Shell & Equinor Reach Sparta Investment Decision: Set To Boost Gulf Of Mexico Oil Output

Equinor ASA EQNR and its operating co-owner, Shell Offshore Inc., a subsidiary of Shell PLC SHEL, disclosed a Final Investment Decision (FID) for Sparta, a deep water development in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, for an undisclosed amount.

Shell owns 51%, and Equinor ASA EQNR owns 49% of Sparta, which is expected to reach peak production of around 90,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d).

Sparta, which has an estimated discovered recoverable resource volume of 244 million boe, will be Shell's 15th deep-water host in the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to begin production in 2028.

Zoë Yujnovich, Shell's Integrated Gas & Upstream Director said, "This investment decision is aligned with our commitment to pursue the most energy-efficient and competitive projects while supplying safe, secure energy supplies today and for decades to come."

The Sparta development will be Shell's first replicable project to feature all-electric topside compression equipment and the first in the Gulf of Mexico to produce from reservoirs with pressures up to 20,000 pounds per square inch.

Equinor delivered 149,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in Q3 2023 from 10 producing assets in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, and continues to seek new prospects as part of a growing U.S. portfolio that includes offshore wind and low carbon solutions projects.

Also Read: Shell Reportedly Set To Exit Schwedt Refinery! Is The Energy Giant Paving Way For New Chapter In European Fuel Supply?

Price Action: SHEL shares are trading higher by 0.58% at $65.88 premarket on the last check Wednesday.

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