First Oil Delivery for the Kaikias deep-water project in the Gulf of Mexico

June 1, 2018 Project

Mitsui Oil Exploration Co., Ltd. ("MOECO", Head Office: Tokyo, President and CEO: Hiroyuki Tsurugi) is pleased to announce that first oil production has been successfully achieved ahead of schedule from the Kaikias deep-water project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, which is owned by Shell Offshore Inc., (80%, operator, "Shell"), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, and MOEX North America LLC (20%, "MOEX NA"), a wholly owned subsidiary of MOECO. The Kaikias project is expected to produce up to 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day when fully ramped up.

Shell, in collaboration with MOEX NA, achieved cost reductions and increased development pace by competitively designing the new wells, efficiently managing drilling and completion activities and using existing subsea and processing equipment at the nearby Shell operated Ursa oil and gas production hub. Shell and its contractors completed all necessary topside modifications and project commissioning activity was completed without interrupting production operations at Ursa.

Additional oil resources at Kaikias were discovered by drilling a pilot-hole well, which increased the field's total recoverable resource base. Together with Shell, MOECO will continue to work through MOEX NA to further expand the project, whilst ensuring safe and reliable operations.

Reference site Shell Global Media releases