[US GOM] Sparta FPU

[escveritas]

Singapore, 28 Aug 2023

Seatrium announced today that the Company, through its subsidiary Seatrium Oil and Gas International Pte Ltd has signed an LoI wtih Shell to provide services to carry out construction work related to Shell's Sparta Project, in the US Gulf of Mexico.

The Sparta development is owned by Shell (51%) and Equinor (49%). Formerly known as North Platte, Sparta straddles four blocks of the Garden Banks area in approximately 1300 m of water depth.

Discovered in 2012 by Cobalt Energy and Total, the Wilcox-aged discovery requires 20K-psi technology to develop, according to the partners. Cobalt’s stake in the asset was sold to Equinor when the company went bankrupt in 2017. TotalEnergies in early 2022 walked away from the project, leaving Equinor with 100% interest.

Shell purchased 51% of Equinor’s interest in the North Platte deepwater development project and became the new operator of the field in August 2022. The partners agreed to rename North Platte to Sparta.

According to Seatrium, the Sparta FPU will incorporate similar designs as that of Vito FPU and Whale FPU. The final contract is still subject to FID by Shell and Equinor.

Earlier in May 2023, Shell has awarded Australian contractor Worley to provide services for its Sparta floating development located about 275 km off the Louisiana coast in the US Gulf of Mexico.

Under the contract, Worley will provide engineering, design, procurement support, construction, and commissioning support for the Sparta front-end engineering design (FEED), detailed design, and follow-on phases of the project.