Technip secures Stones contract

Shell has awarded Technip a contract for the development of subsea infrastructure for the Stones project. Included in the agreement are two subsea production tie-backs to the floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. The Stones field is located in the Walker Ridge area in the US Gulf of Mexico, at a water depth of 2,930 metres. This is a new frontier in oil and gas deepwater, where Shell achieved first commercial production with Perdido. Some 50,000 boe/d is forecast at peak production during the first phase of development, from more than 250mn boe of recoverable resources. The Stones field is reported to have significant upside potential and is estimated to contain over 2bn boe of oil in place.