Williams, Tulsa, Okla., reached an agreement with Shell Offshore Inc. and Chevron USA Inc. to provide offshore natural gas gathering and crude oil transportation services as well as onshore natural gas processing services for the US Gulf of Mexico Whale development.
Whale, which lies 10 miles from the Shell-operated Perdido host platform, is expected to reach peak production of 100,000 boe/d and currently has an estimated, recoverable resource volume of 490 MMboe. Shell made final investment decision (FID) for the deepwater development in July (OGJ Online, July 26, 2021).
Williams plans to expand its existing Gulf of Mexico offshore infrastructure via a 25-mile gas lateral pipeline build from the Whale platform to the existing Perdido gas pipeline and a new 125-mile oil pipeline to the existing Williams-owned GA-A244 junction platform. Natural gas will be transported to Williams’ Markham gas processing plant in Matagorda, Tex. First production is expected in 2024.
Williams owns and operates 3,500 miles of natural gas and oil gathering and transmission pipeline, along with 1.8 bcfd of cryogenic processing capacity and 60,000 b/d of fractionation capacity that span the Gulf of Mexico. The company has ownership in two floating production platforms, multiple fixed leg utility platforms, and other related infrastructure.
