Shell Pipeline Company ('Shell') has announced the Final Investment Decision (FID) for the Rome Pipeline, an offshore pipeline construction project increasing access between Shell’s Green Canyon Block 19 ('GC-19') pipeline hub platform and the Fourchon Junction facility on the Louisiana Gulf Coast. The pipeline will bring additional capacity to Shell’s extensive Gulf of Mexico (GoM) footprint, expanding support for domestic oil production in the western and central area of the GoM.
'This investment will reinforce Shell’s strategic position in the US Gulf of Mexico through enhanced oil transport capacity, flexibility and efficiency,' said Andrew Smith, Shell’s Executive Vice President of Trading and Supply.
In conjunction with this announcement, Shell and BP America Production Company ('bp') have entered into an agreement for the Rome Pipeline to export 100% of the oil production from bp’s recently sanctioned Kaskida project in the Keathley Canyon area.
The Rome Pipeline will run adjacent to existing corridor pipelines and will extend approximately 100 miles in length. It will originate from Shell’s GC-19 pipeline hub platform which serves as a destination for several existing deep-water fields in the GoM due to its connections to most major crude oil markets in Texas and Louisiana.
Building on Shell’s experience in constructing and safely operating pipelines, including nearly 3,000 miles of pipeline in Louisiana and the GoM waters off the Louisiana coast, the Rome Pipeline will draw upon that expertise and Shell’s unwavering commitment to safety.
Pending applicable permitting and regulatory agency approvals, the Rome Pipeline is projected to begin operation in 2028.
Shell’s GC-19 platform in Green Canyon Lease Block 19 in the US Gulf of Mexico. Photo: SHELL
Background
- Shell’s GC-19 platform is located approximately 75 miles south of the Louisiana coastline in the GoM’s Green Canyon Lease Block 19 at a water depth of about 750 feet.
- Shell is the owner and operator of the Green Canyon Block 19 platform which currently provides existing pipeline access to the Amberjack, Boxer, Eugene Island and CHOPS Pipeline systems in the GoM.
- Shell Pipeline Company LP has helped meet America’s energy needs for more than 100 years by maintaining focus on reliability, pipeline integrity, and customer service. Its business spans Shell-operated and non-operated assets across 12 states and the GoM.
- Shell Pipeline Company LP’s operations include seven tank farms, two caverns, six platforms, and more than 3,400 Shell-operated pipeline miles transporting more than 1.5 billion barrels of crude oil, refined products, chemicals and natural gas liquids annually, with an additional 8,600 pipeline miles non-operated ownership interests.
Source: Shell
