Shell Exploration & Production Company and BP America Inc recently announced another milestone in the development of the giant Na Kika project in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico with the achievement of first production. Shell and BP each hold 50 per cent of the project.

Na Kika consists of five independent fields - Kepler, Ariel, Fourier, Herschel and East Anstey - which Shell and BP have developed with the installation of a centrally located, permanently-moored semi- submersible floating production facility.

The Na Kika semi-submersible production facility is moored in water some 6,300 feet deep, the deepest for any installation of its type in the world. The individual wells are in water depths that range from 5,800 to 7,000 feet.

The Kepler, Ariel and Herschel fields are primarily oil, while the Fourier and East Anstey fields are primarily gas. A sixth field, Coulomb, owned 100 per cent by Shell and located in 7,600 feet of water, will be tied back to the Na Kika host facility as production capacity becomes available. At peak production Na Kika is expected to produce 110,000 bpd and 425 million cubic feet per day of natural gas. Ultimate recovery from Na Kika is estimated at about 300 million barrels of oil equivalent.

BP and Shell have also announced the start-up of the 75-mile Na Kika segment of the Okeanos Gas Gathering System from Na Kika to Main Pass 260 where the gas will be transported to onshore markets via the BP/Shell Destin pipeline system. Okeanos will transport gas from deepwater discoveries in Mississippi Canyon and the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The Na Kika segment of the Okeanos pipeline system was built by Shell, but is operated by BP.

Gaurdie Banister, Regional Technical Director of Shell EP Americas, says, "Shell designed an innovative concept to develop Na Kika drawing upon our global deepwater experience and expertise. We have used ground-breaking technology to deliver this project, which is our sixth stand-alone hub in the Gulf of Mexico."

Shell is the operator for the development phase of the Na Kika project, responsible for the design, fabrication and installation of the floating host facility and subsea production system, as well as the drilling and completion of the 10 development wells.

BP is the production operator for the project, responsible for the operation of the host facility and the satellite subsea fields.

Initial production from the first well in the development is projected to exceed 100 million cubic feet per day. Production will continue to increase over the next few months as additional new wells come online.

Na Kika is located at Mississippi Canyon Block 474, approximately 140 miles southeast of New Orleans.

Shell Gas & Power recently took delivery of its newly built Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carrier 'Granatina' from Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co Ltd (DSME) in Korea.

'Granatina' is the third in a series of four vessels commissioned by Shell Gas & Power to supply its growing number of receiving terminals around the world, including those in the US, Mexico and India.

Shell is the world's leading private LNG supplier and shipper - with involvement in six LNG production projects in Australia, Brunei, Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman and Russia - and has an equity capacity approaching 10mpta (million tonnes per annum). Shell is seeking to expand these positions and develop new projects.

Ann Pickard, Shell Gas & Power's Director for Global Businesses, says, "The LNG market is expanding into new markets, such as Mexico, India and China. 'Granatina', together with the rest of the Shell fleet, supports Shell Gas & Power's strategy for developing and linking downstream markets for LNG with our supply projects worldwide."

'Granatina', with a capacity of 140,500 cubic metres, utilises the membrane containment system. In this double-hulled Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT) design, the eight-sided polygonal shaped tanks have been tailored to maximise the vessel's cargo capacity. Shell Shipping Technology, the technical consultancy division of Shell International Trading and Shipping Co Ltd (STASCO), has closely supervised the vessel's design and construction.

As with its sister ships, 'Granatina' will be operated by STASCO.

STASCO's Vice President Shipping, Jan Kopernicki, says, "We look forward to this addition to our fleet of LNG carriers and to 'Granatina' contributing to our tradition of safe and efficient transportation of LNG around the world."

'Granatina' is named after the 'Mitra Granatina' shell found in marine protected waters in the Gulf of Oman in recognition of Shell's commitment to contributing to sustainable development.

Shell Solar GmbH and Gesellschaft für Solarenergie (GEOSOL) are to build the largest solar power station in the world, south of Leipzig in Germany.

GEOSOL is the initiator and project developer while Shell Solar is the prime construction contractor.

The solar power station will be built on a former lignite mine ash deposit near Espenhain. The free-standing array will comprise some 33,500 solar modules with a total output of 5 megawatts.

The solar power station is due on stream in July 2004. The power will be fed directly into the grid operated by Mitteldeutsche Energie AG, and will be sufficient to meet the electricity demand of about 1,800 households. The solar power station will save some 3,700 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

Shell Solar has considerable experience as a prime contractor in the construction of solar power stations, and has extensive engineering expertise. In 1997 Shell Solar completed an installation at the Munich Trade Centre that is still the world's largest roof-mounted photovoltaic installation.

Shell Solar will be using high- performance photovoltaic modules of the new Shell SQ series in large- scale industrial production for the first time in the Epsenhain project. These solar modules are capable of handling high-voltage and deliver the highest energy yields. Siemens AG is supplying the inverters, the transformers and the medium- voltage connection equipment.

Shell Solar markets its products in more than 75 countries and has a workforce of 1,300. To date, Shell Solar has supplied solar cells and modules with a total peak capacity in excess of 350 megawatts. This corresponds to about one-fifth of the entire capacity installed worldwide. Shell Solar is part of Shell Renewables, a core business of the Royal Dutch/ Shell Group of Companies.

Shell International Gas Limited and Sempra Energy LNG Corp, an affiliate of Sempra Energy, recently announced their intention to form a 50/50 joint venture to build, own and operate a US $600 million liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal in Baja California, Mexico.

The terminal is to be located in Costa Azul on the west coast of Mexico, and will be capable of supplying 1 billion cubic feet (bcf) of natural gas per day. Shell and Sempra Energy LNG Corp. will share the investment costs of the terminal equally and each will take 50 per cent of the capacity in the terminal.

Approximately 500 million cubic feet per day of natural gas from the terminal will be used to meet the growing energy demands in western Mexico. Any surplus gas from the facility will be used to provide new gas supplies for the south western United States.

The proposed joint venture will combine the two separate Baja California LNG receiving terminals proposed by Shell and Sempra Energy LNG Corp into a single project, significantly reducing the impact on the local environment. It is expected that construction will begin in mid-2004 with terminal operations beginning in 2007.

Shell Mexico Country Chairman Peter Kidd says, "This joint venture will unite the strengths of the two companies. Shell is the world's largest private producer of LNG with interests in six projects globally and is a world leader in LNG technology. Our leadership in LNG combined with Sempra Energy's experience and well-established natural gas infrastructure in Mexico is the making of a strong joint venture.

"The decision also reinforces Shell's commitment to Mexico through the continued promotion of sustainable businesses that add value to the energy sector."