Shell Begins Production from Silvertip Phase 3, with Expected Peak Rate of 6,000 Barrels per Day
Key Facts
Shell Offshore announced on October 28, 2026, that production had begun at the third phase of the Silvertip project in the Gulf of America, adding two wells to the Perdido floating platform operated by the company. Shell said the wells are intended to boost the platform’s production by connecting them to existing offshore infrastructure. The company estimated that their combined output could reach 6,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day at peak rates. This is an estimate of the peak rate, not an announcement that production has reached that level. Shell said its production and resource estimates are presented on a 100% gross project basis.
The wells are in the Silvertip Frio reservoir. Shell owns 40% of Phase 3 and operates it, while Chevron USA owns the remaining 60%. These stakes apply to the project’s reservoir wells, while the production addition is tied to the existing Perdido platform. The ownership split means the 6,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day peak estimate is on a gross project basis, not Shell’s share alone. Colette Hirstius, Shell’s executive vice president for the Gulf of America and president of Shell USA, said using existing infrastructure enables the company to “capture more value and extend the life of a world-class asset.” She added that connecting the new production to existing Perdido facilities is central to the development the company announced.
The Perdido platform is in the Alaminos Canyon area, about 200 miles south of Galveston, Texas, in water roughly 8,000 feet deep. Shell currently estimates recoverable resources in Silvertip Phase 3 at about 17 million barrels of oil equivalent, classified as 2P resources under the Society of Petroleum Engineers system. This estimate gives the volume of resources the company believes can be recovered from the phase, alongside the wells’ expected peak rate. In December 2024, Shell announced a final investment decision on the project and then expected production to begin in 2026. The announcement of the start of production on October 28 falls within the timeline set out in the company’s earlier forecast.
The project is part of a wave of offshore additions that the U.S. Energy Information Administration expected to come online in the Gulf of America during 2025 and 2026. In a forecast published in June 2025, the agency projected crude oil production in federal waters would reach 1.80 million barrels per day in 2025 and 1.81 million in 2026, compared with 1.77 million in 2024. The agency said at the time that 13 fields would begin producing oil and gas over the two years, and that eight would rely on subsea tiebacks or expansions of existing floating production units. It listed Silvertip Phase 3 among three subsea tieback projects expected to start production in 2026, alongside Longclaw and Monument. This context places Shell’s project among developments that make use of existing facilities, the model the company described in its announcement about the Perdido wells.
In a separate forecast published by the Energy Information Administration in January 2026, the agency listed Silvertip Phase 3, Longclaw and Monument among the fields expected to begin production in the Gulf of America during the year. It then projected regional crude oil production would rise from 1.9 million barrels per day in 2025 to 2.0 million in 2026, as new fields offset declines from existing ones. The agency expected production to edge down in 2027 as fields naturally declined. The forecast shows that new projects were part of estimates for regional production growth, while Silvertip’s start marks a new phase in the project’s operations. Figures published for Silvertip remain gross estimates of resources and peak rate, according to Shell’s statement.