Worley to Provide Engineering Services for Shell’s Floating Development in U.S. Gulf of Mexico

Shell Offshore, a U.S. subsidiary of Shell, has selected engineering firm Worley to provide services for Sparta, a floating development in U.S. the Gulf of Mexico.

The Sparta offshore development, previously known as the North Platte project, is located some 170 miles off the Louisiana coast.

The development is owned by Shell (51%) and Equinor (49%) which are progressing the project toward a final investment decision expected later in 2023.

Under the contract, Worley will provide engineering, design, procurement support, construction and commissioning support for the FEED, detailed design, and follow-on phases of the project. The project incorporates Worley’s design for a lightweight floating production unit, previously deployed on two other Shell projects, Worley said.

The services will be executed by Worley offices in Houston, Texas and Metairie, Louisiana with support from our Global Integrated Delivery (GID) team in India.

“We’re delighted to continue our partnership with Shell on this third floating production unit and deliver this repeatable solution for their Gulf of Mexico assets,” said Chris Ashton, Chief Executive Officer of Worley.

Financial details of the contract were not disclosed.

Sparta offshore field

Shell acquired its 51% and the operatorship in the offshore project from Equinor in 2022. To reflect the change, Equinor and Shell agreed to rename the North Platte development to the Sparta development.

Sparta straddles four blocks of the Garden Banks area, 275 kilometers (171 miles) off the coast of Louisiana in approximately 1,300 meters (4265 feet) of water depth. Front-end engineering and design (FEED) has been matured for the project.

The field was discovered in 2012 by Cobalt International Energy. TotalEnergies became operator at that time with 60% equity. TotalEnergies withdrew from the project in February 2022, releasing all its equity to Equinor.