Superior Energy Services and Shell Sign Bullwinkle Decommissioning Deal
02 February 2010 - 10:34AM
PR Newswire (US)
NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today, Superior
Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:SPN) ("Superior") announces it now has
ownership of Shell's Gulf of Mexico Bullwinkle platform, and
related assets. Superior will plug and abandon the 29 wells
associated with Bullwinkle, which is the deepest fixed-leg
production platform on the Outer Continental Shelf. Installed in
1988, Bullwinkle produces 4,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day
and serves as a processing hub for third parties. Superior has also
sold a 49% interest in the assets to Dynamic Offshore Resources,
LLC, which will operate the field. The Bullwinkle platform will be
decommissioned at the end of its economic life, and Shell has
agreed to pay Superior an undisclosed amount once decommissioning
is complete. Terry Hall, Chairman and CEO of Superior Energy
Services, Inc. stated, "We appreciate the confidence that Shell has
shown in our body of work and our ability to plan, manage and
execute well intervention and decommissioning projects. We look
forward to utilizing our well intervention assets - including
subsea assets (vessels and remotely operated vehicles) from our
recently announced acquisition of Hallin Marine - for all aspects
of work that will be performed during the remaining life of the
property. "Our plan for this property includes efficiently
producing the remaining reserves, maintaining the platform's
production-handling capabilities for the various subsea fields that
it serves, and plugging the substantial majority of the wells
within the next few years. In addition, subsea tiebacks could
increase given Bullwinkle's strategic location, its large
hydrocarbon processing capacity, continued high exploration
interest in the area and the favorable economics associated with
processing production through an existing structure." John
Hollowell, Executive Vice President of Deep Water for Shell, said,
"Bullwinkle was a record-breaking project that served Shell and the
industry well and enabled us to step out into the frontier of the
deeper waters of the Gulf of Mexico. I can still remember how
impressive it was to watch Bullwinkle's steel jacket sail offshore
from the Texas coast. We now leave Bullwinkle in the capable hands
of Superior as we focus our energy and resources on our exciting
and growing portfolio of assets, projects, and prospects in the
deep and ultra-deep waters of the Gulf." Currently, Bullwinkle
processes approximately 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day
from four subsea fields; another significant field is expected to
commence producing oil and gas through the hub by mid this year.
Bullwinkle sits on Green Canyon Block 65 in 1,353 feet of water and
has a cumulative production of more than 120 million barrels of oil
and 185 billion cubic feet of natural gas. Given its location at
the northwestern end of one of the most prolific hydrocarbon
fairways in the Gulf of Mexico basin, Bullwinkle has been a
successful processing hub for subsea field tie-backs. Superior
Energy Services, Inc. serves the drilling and production needs of
oil and gas companies worldwide through its brand name rental tools
and its integrated well intervention services and tools, supported
by an engineering staff that plan and design solutions for
customers. Offshore projects are delivered by the Company's fleet
of modern marine assets. This press release contains certain
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Accuracy of the
forward-looking statements depends on assumptions about events that
change over time and is thus susceptible to periodic change based
on actual experience and new developments. Among the factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially are volatility of
the oil and gas industry, including the level of exploration,
production and development activity; risks associated with the
uncertainty of macroeconomic and business conditions worldwide, as
well as the global credit markets; risks associated with the
Company's rapid growth; changes in competitive factors and other
material risk factors that are described in the Company's Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as updated by our
subsequent filings with the SEC. Actual events, circumstances,
effects and results may be materially different from the results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements. Consequently, the forward-looking
statements contained herein should not be regarded as
representations by Superior or any other person that the projected
outcomes can or will be achieved. The Company cautions readers that
it assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements
in this press release and does not intend to update the
forward-looking statements more frequently than quarterly. FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terence Hall, CEO; Robert Taylor, CFO;
Greg Rosenstein, VP of Investor Relations, (504) 587-7374
DATASOURCE: Superior Energy Services, Inc. CONTACT: Terence Hall,
CEO, Robert Taylor, CFO or Greg Rosenstein, VP of Investor
Relations, all of Superior Energy Services, Inc., +1-504-587-7374
Web Site: http://www.superiorenergy.com/
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