Shell’s Whale field is found in the Alaminos Canyon Block
Shell greenlights Whale venture
Gulf of Mexico FIDs may be waning, but latest approval shows they can still be viable
Shell has reached FID on the Whale development in the US Gulf of Mexico, the company announced on 26 July. The move comes at a time when deepwater FIDs on new standalone developments in the Gulf have become rare, and illustrates it is still possible to move forward with such projects. The FID announcement comes as Shell is stepping up its decarbonisation efforts. Indeed, the company says Whale will use energy-efficient gas turbines and compression systems, adding the Gulf has among the lowest greenhouse gas intensities in the world for producing oil. “Shell approving Whale does not come as a surprise to us, given the quality of the asset,” says Jared Kugler, a senior associate at data analyt
Also in this section
9 April 2026
The April 2026 issue of Petroleum Economist is out now!
9 April 2026
Offshore operators are working through an FID backlog as the rig market consolidates, helped by improving project economics and a renewed security drive
2 April 2026
Alongside a rapid continued build-out of renewables, China’s latest five-year plan stresses the value of domestic hydrocarbon production for energy security and calls for increased Russian gas imports
2 April 2026
The government is taking important steps to revive domestic production, lift investment and benefit from the geopolitical crisis even if more needs to be done in the longer term
