A first: Shell plans to produce at 8,000 feet in Gulf

Shell said today it will be the first oil company to begin producing oil and natural gas in water that’s 8,000 feet deep, trumping competitors in the Gulf of Mexico who have made discoveries or announced intentions to drill in the region but not started to develop them.

The European oil giant, whose U.S. arm is based in Houston, said it will take the lead on the so-called Perdido project, which it will co-develop with Chevron and BP, and expects to begin tapping three fields near the site “around the turn of the decade.”

Shell will anchor Perdido at a new high-tech floating “spar” rig that will be moored in 8,000 feet of water in an area known as Alaminos Canyon, which sits roughly 200 miles south of Freeport.

From there, Shell and its partners will be able to access three deepwater oilfields in the Gulf