Shell to sell Gulf of Mexico deepwater assets to EnVen Energy

HOUSTON, August 30, 2016 – Royal Dutch has reached a USD 425-million agreement to sell 100% of its interest in four of the US’ Gulf of Mexico Green Canyon blocks to US-based EnVen Energy Ventures, the super-major announced on Monday.

The 114, 158, 202 and 248 blocks contain the Brutus and Glider oil and gasfields, which currently produce about 25,000 boepd. The assets include the Brutus tension leg platform, the Glider subsea production system, as well as the oil and gas pipelines used to transport production from the tension leg platform, which has a production capacity of 130,000 bpd and 4.25 mcm (150 mcf) of gas per day.

The deal includes an earn-out mechanism that will allow Shell to receive an overriding royalty interest on future production from a well that was recently drilled and brought online at Glider.

The transaction is expected to close in October this year.

Operations at Brutus began in 2001. Production at the platform had to be temporarily stopped in May 2016 due to a 2,100-barrel oil release from the field’s subsea infrastructure.

Shell is planning to divest about USD 30 billion worth of assets in the next three years – including USD 6-8 billion in 2016 – to help the company pay for the USD 54-billion acquisition of the BG group, completed in February this year.

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