### Shell Sanctions Waterflood Project at Gulf of Mexico’s Vito Field
In a significant move within the oil and gas industry, Shell Offshore Inc., a subsidiary of Shell plc, has taken a final investment decision (FID) to proceed with a waterflood project at its Vito asset in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. This initiative aims to enhance oil recovery by injecting water into the reservoir formation to displace additional oil to adjacent production wells, thereby repressurizing the reservoir.
**Project Details**
– **Project Timeline**: The waterflood project is set to commence in 2027.
– **Resource Enhancement**: The project is expected to increase recoverable resource volume by 60 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe).
– **Classification**: The estimate of resources volumes is currently classified as 2P and 2C under the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Resource Classification System.
**Historical Context**
– **Discovery**: The Vito field was discovered in July 2009, located in four Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) blocks in the Mississippi Canyon area. It spans a significant distance, approximately 75 miles south of Venice, Louisiana, and 10 miles south of the Shell-operated Mars tension-leg platform.
– **First Oil Production**: First oil was achieved from the Vito field in February 2023.
**Sustainability Efforts**
– **Reduced Emissions**: In 2015, the original Vito host design was simplified and re-scoped. This revision resulted in an approximately 80% reduction in CO₂ emissions over the lifetime of the platform, along with a cost reduction of over 70% from the original design concept.
**Operational Details**
– **Operatorship**: Shell is the operator at Vito with a 63.11% interest. Equinor holds the