Shenzi North (GC654) - Woodside

Shenzi North (GC654) - Woodside Oil and Gas Project Profile

Location and Geology

• The Shenzi North oil and gas field is located in the Green Canyon protraction area of the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 195 kilometers off the coast of Louisiana, USA. It is situated in lease blocks GC608 and GC609.
• The field is part of the Greater Wildling mini-basin and lies at a water depth of about 1,310 meters (4,300 feet).

Ownership and Operation

• The Shenzi North field is operated by Woodside Energy, which holds a 72% interest. Repsol owns the remaining 28%.

Discovery and Development

• The Shenzi North field was discovered in 2017 by BHP Petroleum. Following the merger between Woodside Energy and BHP’s petroleum business in June 2022, the field became part of Woodside’s portfolio.
• The final investment decision (FID) for the project was made in July 2021, with an estimated investment of $544 million.

Production Details

• The Shenzi North project achieved first production in September 2023, ahead of the planned target of 2024. It has a production capacity of up to 30 million barrels of oil equivalent (mboe) per day.
• The field is developed as a two-well subsea tieback to the existing Shenzi tension leg platform (TLP). The wells, SN101 and SN102, were drilled using the Deepwater Invictus drillship. Drilling of SN102 commenced in the third quarter of 2022 and was completed by the fourth quarter of 2022, while SN101 was completed by mid-2023.

Infrastructure and Technology

• The subsea production system includes subsea manifolds, high-integrity pressure protection systems (HIPPS), and subsea connections and jumper systems. The HIPPS module allows the use of existing flowlines, risers, and topside facilities of the Shenzi field.
• The field is equipped with 15,000psi HorizontalBore™ subsea trees, installed in April 2023, which offer flexible completion configurations and the ability to run and pull the upper completion without interfering with the tree-to-wellhead connection.

Shenzi Tension Leg Platform (TLP)

• The Shenzi TLP, installed in July 2008 at a water depth of 1,310 meters, has a production capacity of 100,000 barrels of oil per day and 50 million metric standard cubic feet of gas per day. It features 20 subsea production and water injection wells tied back to the facility.
• The platform was designed by MODEC International and has a payload capacity of 15,500 tonnes and a displacement of 43,500 tonnes.

Transportation of Hydrocarbons

• The produced crude oil is transported through the 115-mile Caesar pipeline, while natural gas is transported via a lateral pipeline tied into the 20-inch OD Cleopatra natural gas pipeline, ultimately reaching the Enterprise Products Partners-operated Neptune gas processing plant in St. Mary’s Parish, Louisiana.

Contractors Involved

• Trendsetter Engineering supplied the subsea infrastructure, including subsea manifolds, HIPPS, and subsea connection and jumper systems. They partnered with Proserv for the HIPPS control system.
• Dril-Quip, in collaboration with Proserv, supplied and installed the HorizontalBore™ subsea trees.
• McDermott International was involved in the marine installation campaign for the Shenzi Subsea Multiphase Pumping Project (SSMPP).

Reserves and Production Capacity

• The Shenzi North field has estimated reserves of 44 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe).
• The production design capacity for the field is approximately 10.95 million boe per year.

This project represents the first development phase of the Greater Wildling mini-basin and leverages existing infrastructure to enhance production from the Shenzi field.