01/10/2026 by Joel Thompson
UK-based oil major Shell has announced that it has completed the sale of its 50% interest in the Na Kika platform together with some associated assets.
The company says the sale is part of its ongoing strategy to make its upstream business increasingly competitive and resilient by optimising its portfolio.
The working interest in Na Kika, Shell’s wholly owned Coulomb tieback, and some related fields have been bought by subsidiaries and affiliates of Ridgewood Energy and Talos Energy. BP, the maker of the Castrol lubricant and grease range, will continue operating Na Kika with the remaining 50% working interest.
Shell emphasised in a press release that it maintained a strong position in the Gulf of Mexico:
“Shell’s Deep Water business is differentiated by its scale, efficiency and infrastructure. Shell is the only international oil company with a leading portfolio position in both the Gulf of America [Mexico] and Brazil, two of the highest-margin and lowest-carbon production basins in the world.”
The semi-submersible Na Kika platform has been producing since 2003, with the Coulomb tieback coming online later in 2005.
At the end of last year, Shell estimated its proven reserves for them at 4.3 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) and 7.2 million boe, respectively. Shell says its production share for the assets was 37,000 boe per day last year. Its modelling, however, indicates they would cease to be substantial contributors by the end of the decade, although it has negotiated offtake rights with the buyers.
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