Shell hires Subsea7 for deepwater development offshore Louisiana

Subsea7 has been awarded a contract by Shell for a deepwater development located some 210 kilometers offshore Louisiana in the U.S.

The scope of work includes the transportation and installation of a subsea umbilical, riser, and a rigid flowline in water depths of up to 1,650 meters for the Kaikias Waterflood project in the Mars-Ursa Basin.

Subsea7 said that the contract was sizeable, meaning it is worth between $50 million and $150 million.

Project management and engineering activities will begin immediately from the company’s office in Houston, Texas, with offshore operations scheduled for 2027.

Craig Broussard, Senior Vice President for Subsea7 Gulf of Mexico, said: “This award strengthens our long-standing and successful collaboration with Shell. We are bringing our deepwater experience to the Kaikias development and delivering cost-effective solutions that will support safe and efficient project execution, helping Shell maximise long-term value from the field.”

The Kaikias field was discovered in 2014. Production started in May 2018 with flowback to the Ursa tension leg platform (TLP), which is operated by Shell (61.3484%) with BP Exploration & Production (22.6916%) and ECP GOM III (15.96%) as partners.

In mid-December 2025, Shell took a final investment decision (FID) on the waterflood project, estimated to increase recoverable resource volume by around 60 million metric barrels of oil equivalent (P50). First injection is expected in 2028 and is anticipated to extend the production lifecycle of Ursa by several years.