Oil & Gas Journal: Shell, JV partners start oil, gas production from Llano field in Gulf of Mexico 

By OGJ editors

Posted 23 May 04

HOUSTON, Shell Exploration & Production Co. and its joint venture partners have brought oil and natural gas on production from Llano field on Garden Banks blocks 385 and 386 in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

Llano field, which lies about 200 miles southwest of New Orleans in about 2,600 ft of water, is producing 10,500 b/d of oil and 26 MMcfd of gas from a single well through a subsea system tied back 11.5 miles to Shell's Auger tension-leg platform.

Dedicated production capacity at Auger is 25,000 b/d of oil and 75 MMcfd of gas. A second well is planned to be placed on production later this month, Shell said.

The subsea system comprises two wells tied back to Auger via a pipe-in-pipe looped flow line. Total development costs were $215 million, including modifications to the Auger TLP. This project marks the fifth subsea system to be tied back to Auger, Shell reported.

Shell, the operator, holds 27.5% interest in Llano. Partners are Amerada Hess Corp. 50%, and ExxonMobil Corp. 22.5%.