?Shell Oil Co. reports it has drilled the world’s deepest offshore well approximately 200 miles south of Houston in the Gulf of Mexico.


The well was completed at 9,356 feet, or 1.77 miles, below ?the water’s surface in Silvertop Field at the Perdido development. Houston-based FMC Technologies Inc. provided the vertical deepwater tree system used in the well’s completion.


Russ Ford, Shell vice president, technology, Americas, says, “Pressing into ever-deeper waters shows that the ultra-deep is a new frontier for the critical resources to meet the world’s future energy needs.


“This achievement represents a leap forward in applying sophisticated technologies in rugged seafloor terrain with a harsh environment of very high pressures accessible only by remotely operated vehicles. This means not just reaching a new milestone, but forging new ground in technological innovation.”


The Perdido well is 35% deeper than Shell’s 6,950-foot well at Fourier Field, which was the previous record-holder. Shell says it plans to drill a yet-deeper well at Tobago Field at 9,627 feet.


Production from Perdido, which Shell operates and in which Chevron Corp. and BP Plc are partners, is expected in 2010. The facility will be able to handle 130,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Shell reports that getting the oil and gas to market will require 77 miles of oil-export pipeline and 107 miles of gas-export pipe.

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