Shell takes investment decision at Dover in US Gulf of Mexico

HOUSTON, March 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Shell Offshore Inc., a subsidiary of Shell plc (Shell), announced the Final Investment Decision (FID) for Dover, a planned subsea tieback to the Shell-operated Appomattox production hub in the US Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Dover is expected to start production in late 2024-early 2025 and produce up to 21,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) at peak rates.

"Shell is a pioneer in the Norphlet reservoir with Appomattox, and we are building on our leading position in the reservoir with Dover," said Paul Goodfellow, Shell's Executive Vice President for Deepwater. "Last year we took FID on Rydberg, another subsea tieback to Appomattox, and Dover gives us an opportunity to add to our base in this prolific basin."

The investment at Dover underscores Shell's long-term commitment to the US Gulf of Mexico, where production has among the lowest greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity in the world for producing oil.

Shell's Powering Progress strategy to thrive through the energy transition includes increasing investment in lower-carbon energy solutions, while continuing to pursue the most energy-efficient and highest-return Upstream investments to supply safe, secure energy supplies today and for decades to come.

• Originally discovered in 2018, Dover is located within Mississippi Canyon, approximately 170 miles offshore southeast of New Orleans, Louisiana in about 7,500 feet of water.
• Shell has 100% working interest in Dover.
• The development concept for Dover is a subsea tieback to the Shell-operated Appomattox production hub, with two production wells produced through a 17.5-mile flowline and riser.
• Shell operates Appomattox with a 79% working interest, with CNOOC controlling the remaining 21%.
• Dover is expected to produce up to 21,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) at peak rates.
• The reference to our U.S. Gulf of Mexico production having among the lowest GHG intensity in the world is a comparison among other IOGP oil-and gas-producing members.
• Shell is the leading operator in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas production.
• In addition to operations in Brazil and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Shell's deep-water portfolio includes our Argentina Shales organization and frontier exploration opportunities in Mexico, Suriname, Sao Tome & Principe, Argentina and Namibia.

Cautionary note
The companies in which Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this announcement "Shell", "Shell Group" and "Group" are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" are also used to refer to Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These terms are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular entity or entities. ''Subsidiaries'', "Shell subsidiaries" and "Shell companies" as used in this announcement refer to entities over which Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. Entities and unincorporated arrangements over which Shell has joint control are generally referred to as "joint ventures" and "joint operations", respectively. "Joint ventures" and "joint operations" are collectively referred to as "joint arrangements".  Entities over which Shell has significant influence but neither control nor joint control are referred to as "associates". The term "Shell interest" is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in an entity or unincorporated joint arrangement, after exclusion of all third-party interest.

Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Shell to market risks and statements expressing management's expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as "aim", "ambition", ''anticipate'', ''believe'', ''could'', ''estimate'', ''expect'', ''goals'', ''intend'', ''may'', "milestones", ''objectives'', ''outlook'', ''plan'', ''probably'', ''project'', ''risks'', "schedule", ''seek'', ''should'', ''target'', ''will'' and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this announcement, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, judicial, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; (m) risks associated with the impact of pandemics, such as the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak; and (n) changes in trading conditions. No assurance is provided that future dividend payments will match or exceed previous dividend payments. All forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors that may affect future results are contained in Shell plc's Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2022 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov). These risk factors also expressly qualify all forward-looking statements contained in this announcement and should be considered by the reader.  Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this announcement, March 15, 2023. Neither Shell plc nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement.
Shell's net carbon intensity

Also, in this announcement we may refer to Shell's "Net Carbon Intensity", which includes Shell's carbon emissions from the production of our energy products, our suppliers' carbon emissions in supplying energy for that production and our customers' carbon emissions associated with their use of the energy products we sell. Shell only controls its own emissions. The use of the term Shell's "Net Carbon Intensity" is for convenience only and not intended to suggest these emissions are those of Shell plc or its subsidiaries.

Shell's net-Zero Emissions Target
Shell's operating plan, outlook and budgets are forecasted for a ten-year period and are updated every year.  They reflect the current economic environment and what we can reasonably expect to see over the next ten years. Accordingly, they reflect our Scope 1, Scope 2 and Net Carbon Intensity (NCI) targets over the next ten years.  However, Shell's operating plans cannot reflect our 2050 net-zero emissions target and 2035 NCI target, as these targets are currently outside our planning period. In the future, as society moves towards net-zero emissions, we expect Shell's operating plans to reflect this movement. However, if society is not net zero in 2050, as of today, there would be significant risk that Shell may not meet this target.

Forward Looking Non-GAAP measures
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LEI number of Shell plc: 21380068P1DRHMJ8KU70

SOURCE Shell Offshore Inc.