Shell stands tall in US deepwater

摘要

Shell has emerged as the most active operator in the deep water of the US Gulf of Mexico since the Macondo dis-aster,helping spur the recovery of one of the country’s most prolific basins. Shell has drilled almost a quarter of the 402 wells spudded in water depths of 500ft(152m)or greater since produc-ers resumed in the deep water in Febru-ary 2011 following the government’s drilling moratorium,Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement data show(see table).That is nearly twice as many as Shell’s clos-est competitor,Chev-ron.Of 252 explora-tion wells started in the same timeframe, Shell drilled 67.Shell boasts the highest rig count under contract in the basin,with nine floating and four plat-form rigs.It has been the largest oil pro-ducer in the US Gulf since 2012.