Shell Starts Up Barracuda

Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) reported Thursday that its BG International subsidiary has achieved first gas from Project Barracuda offshore Trinidad and Tobago.

Also known as Block 5C, Barracuda – located in the Caribbean country’s East Coast Marine Area (ECMA) – reached the production start-up milestone on July 18, 2021, Shell noted in a written statement emailed to Rigzone. The company added the project will support gas delivery within Trinidad and Tobago and well as internationally via the Atlantic LNG liquefaction terminal.

Shell’s stake in each of Atlantic LNG’s four trains ranges from 46% to 57.5%, the firm pointed out.

“Today’s announcement strengthens the resilience and competitiveness of Shell’s position in Trinidad and Tobago,” remarked Maarten Wetselaar, director of Shell’s Integrated Gas, Renewable and Energy Solutions unit. “This is a key growth opportunity that supports our long-term strategy in the country as well as our global LNG growth ambitions.”

Shell pointed out that Barracuda comprises two wholly owned subsea wells – one in the Endeavour field and the other in the Bounty field – tied back to the company’s Dolphin platform. Endeavour and Bounty represent two of Trinidad and Tobago’s deepest development wells, with the former drilled to 20,000 feet (6,096 meters) and the latter to 16,000 feet (4,877 meters), Shell added.

The Barracuda backfill project – Shell’s first greenfield project in Trinidad and Tobago – boasts approximately 25,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) (140 million standard cubic feet per day [mmscf/d]) of sustained near-term gas production, noted Shell. The firm added that it anticipates peak output of approximately 40,000 boe/d (220 mmscf/d).

“We are immensely proud of our people and the remarkable work it took to achieve this milestone, particularly given that drilling began in May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic,” commented Eugene Okpere, Shell senior vice president and Trinidad and Tobago country chair. “Our execution strategy had to be completely overhauled to deliver our business plan, all while working remotely. It required tremendous resilience, adaptability, and commitment.”

Shell also stated that it expects to achieve first gas from the Colibri project in 2022. Located in Trinidad and Tobago’s Block 22 and North Coast Marine Area (NCMA) 4, Colibri is a four-well joint venture that Shell is developing with Heritage Petroleum Co. Ltd.

To contact the author, email mveazey@rigzone.com.