The morning light had just crossed the sea level of the Gulf of Mexico, and the sound of drilling on the Nachika platform echoed on the surface of the sea as usual. This old platform, which was put into operation in 2003, is like a rivet nailed to the deep sea, continuously delivering oil and gas thousands of meters underground to shore for more than 20 years. But for its second shareholder Shell, the position of this rivet is a bit special - it is the only asset in the entire Gulf of Mexico that it does not have operational rights in hand.

Finalize the sale agreement

Shell's offshore oil and gas subsidiary, a British energy company, has reached an asset disposal agreement to transfer non operational rights to some oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico. The company plans to sell 50% of the non operational mining rights of the Najika platform and supporting oil fields, as well as its wholly-owned holding of the Coulomb pipeline. The acquirer is a subsidiary of two energy companies, with a total transaction price of 1.7 billion US dollars. The amount will be adjusted according to conventional standards in the future, with additional floating payments attached.

Core transaction details

The Najica platform is operated by BP, holding the remaining half of the equity. The effective date of this transaction is July 1, 2025. After successfully completing the regulatory approval process, it is expected to be delivered by the end of 2026. Before 2027, Shell will still be able to obtain additional income that fluctuates with production, while also enjoying the excess income rights of new pipeline projects on the platform.

In 2025, Shell can receive 37000 barrels of oil equivalent production per day from this batch of assets. The company estimates that the production of the two oil and gas fields will significantly decline after 2030. The acquirer will assume responsibility for the disposal of facility waste and provide corresponding performance guarantees.

Assets and subsequent arrangements

Shell's US trading subsidiary can still continue to purchase crude oil from two oil fields. The Nakaka platform was put into operation in 2003 and is the only platform operated by Shell in the Gulf of Mexico that is not self operated; The Coulomb pipeline was put into operation in 2005. At the end of 2025, the two confirmed reserves were 4.3 million barrels and 7.2 million barrels of oil equivalent, respectively. Keywords:Engineering Construction,Construction News,Engineering Information

The transfer process needs to be informed to BP, and the other party has the right of first refusal to purchase at the same price within thirty days. Shell stated that the United States is its core market, deeply cultivating various states across the country. It is also a major player in deepwater development in the Gulf of Mexico and a major purchaser of local liquefied natural gas. The head of Shell's upstream division stated that the Gulf of Mexico is a core value mining area for the company. Currently, we are actively optimizing our asset structure, enhancing our upstream business's risk resistance and market competitiveness, and will continue to stabilize the production of liquid energy such as crude oil in the next decade.Editor/Gong Ziwei