(Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell's U.S. unit said on Wednesday that it had made one of its biggest oil discoveries in the Blacktip deepwater well in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
Blacktip, operated by Shell (LON:RDSa) and co-owned by U.S. oil giant Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX), Equinor ASA and Repsol (MC:REP), is the company's second material discovery in the Perdido Corridor, Shell's Upstream Director Andy Brown said.
"The Blacktip exploration well has encountered more than 400 feet (122 metres) net oil pay with good reservoir and fluid characteristics," the company said.
"Evaluation is ongoing and appraisal planning is underway to further delineate the discovery and define development options," it added.
Blacktip was discovered in the Alaminos Canyon, about 30 miles from the Perdido platform and discovery at Whale, a deepwater well operated by Shell and co-owned by Chevron.
Shell is developing a number of new projects around the world, including in the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil, and has been looking to increase its footprint in onshore U.S. shale production, particularly in the Permian Basin.
Shell, which has added more than one billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) resources in the last decade in the Gulf of Mexico, said its global deep-water production is on track to exceed 900,000 boe per day by 2020, from already discovered, established areas.