Shell plc said on Wednesday it has taken a final investment decision on the Dover exploration field in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, which it plans to develop as a below-sea connection to the Appomattox production hub.

The Dover project is expected to start production in late 2024 or early 2025 and produce up to 21,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) at peak rates.

Appomattox is Shell’s largest floating platform in the Gulf of Mexico, with a 79% ownership.

Shell’s investment at Dover underscores the firm’s long-term commitment to the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, where oil production has among the lowest greenhouse gas intensity in the world, the energy company said in a statement.

Originally discovered in 2018, Dover is located within Mississippi Canyon, about 170 miles offshore southeast of New Orleans, Louisiana in about 7,500 feet of water.

[reuters]