Shell Offshore Inc. (Shell), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, announces the final investment decision for Vito, a deep-water development in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico with a forward-looking, break-even price estimated to be less than $35 per barrel. This decision sets in motion the construction and fabrication of a new, simplified host design and subsea infrastructure.

Vito is expected to reach peak production of approximately 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day, which represents a significant contribution to our continued growth in the Gulf of Mexico. The development currently has an estimated, recoverable resource of 300 million boe.

“With a lower-cost developmental approach, the Vito project is a very competitive and attractive opportunity industry-wide,” said Andy Brown, Shell Upstream Director. “Our ability to advance this world-class resource is a testament to the skill and ingenuity of our development, engineering and drilling teams.”

In 2015, Shell began to redesign the Vito project, reducing cost estimates by more than 70% from the original concept. Vito’s cost savings are due to the simplified design, in addition to working collaboratively with vendors in a variety of areas including well design and completions, subsea, contracting, and topsides design.

The Vito development is owned by Shell Offshore Inc. (63.11% operator) and Statoil USA E&P Inc. (36.89%); the field is located beneath more than 4,000 feet of water, approximately 150-miles southeast of New Orleans.

With 40-years of Shell leadership in deep water, Vito will be Shell’s 11th deep-water host in the Gulf of Mexico and is currently scheduled to begin producing oil in 2021. With global production progressing to more than 900,000 boe per day, Shell has deep-water projects and opportunities in the U.S., Brazil, Nigeria, Malaysia, and Mexico.

Notes:

- Located over four blocks in the Mississippi Canyon area of the Gulf of Mexico, the Vito development will consist of eight subsea wells with deep (18,000 feet) in-well gas lift.
- The forward-looking breakeven price presented above is calculated based on all forward-looking costs associated from FID. Accordingly, this typically excludes exploration and appraisal costs, lease bonuses, exploration seismic and exploration team overhead costs. The forward-looking breakeven price is calculated based on our estimate of resources volumes that are currently classified as 2p and 2c under the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Resource Classification System. As this project is expected to be multi-decade producing, the less than $35 per barrel projection will not be reflected either in earnings or cash flow in the next five years.
- The estimated peak production and current estimated recoverable resources presented above are 100% total gross figures.

About Royal Dutch Shell plc

Royal Dutch Shell plc is incorporated in England and Wales, has its headquarters in The Hague and is listed on the London, Amsterdam, and New York stock exchanges. Shell companies have operations in more than 70 countries and territories with businesses including oil and gas exploration and production; production and marketing of liquefied natural gas and gas to liquids; manufacturing, marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals and renewable energy projects.