Title: Innovating at New Depths to Power the Future
Duration: 3:36 minutes
Innovating at New Depths to Power the Future Transcript
[Text displays]
Innovating at New Depths to Power the Future
[Background music plays]
Bright, uplifting music
[Narrator]
While the world will need to develop multiple energy resources to meet the energy demand, oil and gas
will continue to play a significant role and deep water is a crucial part of the mix.
[Animated sequence]
On a black background, we see a slowly-rotating 3D image of a cuboid cutaway of a hilly landscape with
a river running through it. Geological layers are visible on the sides of the cutaway. As the projection
rotates, we see trees and structures rise from the landscape.
The 3D image fades mid-rotation as another cuboid cutaway materialises, this time of undulating seabed
and ocean. Contour lines and geological layers are visible. Four yellow narrow, vertical structures, each
with a small superstructure just above sea-level, extend from the seabed to the ocean surface, one at
each corner of the cutaway. Three of the structures are anchored to the deeper seabed by a series of
cables, while the third is fixed by a rigid frame to the shallower part of the seabed.
The image fades away completely and is replaced by a slowly rotating planet earth. The continents are
black against the blue oceans. Various offshore oil exploration sites pulsate with light along the coast of
each continent.
[Narrator]
At Shell we believe innovation holds the key to successfully unlocking oil and gas from deep water safely
and responsibly.
The offshore oil and gas industry has gone from zero to nearly 10,000 feet, or 3,500 metres, of water
depth in the past 100 years.
[Animated sequence]
The rotating planet earth fades mid-rotation to be replaced with another cuboid cutaway of a narrow
strip of shoreline which falls rapidly away to deeper ocean and undulating seabed. Geological layers and
contour lines are visible.
As the cutaway rotates left, depth markers appears on either side of the cutaway. On the left is a gauge
in feet, divided vertically into 1,000 ft measurements, with numbered measurements at 0 ft, 5,000 ft
and 10,000 ft. On the right is a gauge in metres, divided vertically into 3,048 m measurements, with
numbered measurements at 0 m, 1,524 m and 3,048 m. The description: 100 years appears horizontally
across the top, midway between the two gauges. As the cutaway rotates, a semi-transparent yellow
zone extends rapidly from the top left corner of the ocean, following the seabed, all the way across to
the right of the cutaway.
Image continues to rotate until we see the gauges and yellow zone from behind, through the ocean
cutaway.
[Narrator]
Early efforts adapted traditional concepts to offshore requirements and, later, led to platforms fixed to
the bottom of the ocean to produce oil and gas.
[Animated sequence]
The former image fades out in mid-rotation to be replaced by a similar cuboid cutaway of an undulating
seabed with a narrow band of steeper, hilly shoreline. Geographical layers and contour lines are visible.
As the image rotates a pier, shown in yellow, grows from the shoreline and extends out into the ocean.
It is supported by many very long support pillars, and three oil exploration platform superstructures
emerge, one by one, from the pier.
As the image continues to rotate left, the shoreline and seabed flatten out to show a cuboid cutaway of
undulating seabed and ocean. As the pier and two of the platforms disappear, one remains and rises
from the water, to hover above the ocean surface. As the cutaway continues to rotate left, the water
level rises to just below the hovering platform.
[Narrator]
Shell was the first to use semi-submersible drilling rigs that have evolved further since.
[Animated sequence]
The above image remains on-screen, continuing to rotate. The platform sinks below the ocean surface
to come to rest with its feet on the seabed and just a small section remaining above the ocean surface.
[Narrator]
These fixed platforms are still used today.
[Animated sequence]
The platform disappears sideways to the left of the cutaway, while the water level rises significantly.
[Narrator]
Bullwinkle in the Gulf of Mexico was the tallest one in the world. Installed by Shell in 1988 and setting a
new water depth record back then of 1,353 feet, or 412 metres.
[Animated sequence]
A vast yellow drilling platform, suspended on its side on a yellow sheet with four buoys at one end,
emerges from the front of the screen, to come to hover on the ocean surface. The buoyed sheet slides
out from under the platform towards front of screen. The platform then tilts upwards to come to rest
with its feet on the seabed and a small section projecting above the ocean surface.
The image continues to rotate to give us a 360◦ view of the platform in the centre of the cutaway.
[Narrator]
A major milestone was the leap from fixed to floating structures that are moored to the seabed, lighter,
and more buoyant. Auger in the Gulf of Mexico was Shell’s first floating structure.
[Animated sequence]
The image shrinks and fades as an image of another cuboid cutaway of a much deeper ocean
materialises. A floating platform appears in the centre of the cutaway: a large superstructure, with
crane and masts projecting from it. It is supported above the ocean surface on four tubular legs which
are semi-submerged and anchored to the seabed by a multitude of cables directly underneath them.
The image continues to rotate to give us a 360◦ view of the platform in the centre of the cutaway.
[Narrator]
The Perdido platform in the Gulf of Mexico rests on a floating spar structure moored in 8,000 feet, or
2,450m of water, and is currently the world’s deepest drilling and production platform.
[Animated sequence]
The water level in the cuboid cutaway drops slightly as the image fades and is replaced by an image of
another superstructure, with crane and mast projecting from it. This superstructure is supported above
the ocean surface by one tubular leg which is more than halfway submerged and anchored to the
seabed by a series of cables.
The image continues to rotate to give us a 360◦ view of the platform in the centre of the cutaway.
[Narrator]
Shell’s Stones project, currently under construction, is expected to surpass Perdido’s depth record using
a floating vessel and tanker to produce and transport oil while field development continues.
[Animated sequence]
The seabed rises as the aforementioned superstructure fades away and is replaced by an oil tanker
floating on the ocean surface. The tanker is moored to the seabed by many anchors. There are three or
four clusters of relatively small unidentified objects, possibly processing equipment, on the seabed
surrounding the vessel’s anchor-points.
[Narrator]
And we’ve used the same floating vessel concept in the Parque das Conchas (BC-10) project in Brazil to
deliver production growth.
[Animated sequence]
The image continues to rotate to give us a 360◦ view of the tanker in the centre of the cutaway.
[Narrator]
Another innovation is processing equipment on the sea floor. These subsea systems reduce weight on
the platform and enable the pumping of oil in cases where oil is difficult to move on its own pressure.
[Animated sequence]
The water level rises as the tanker fades away as a platform materialises to one side of the cuboid
cutaway. The platform superstructure is supported on a single, long, tubular leg which is two-thirds
submerged and anchored to the seabed by a series of cables. Processing equipment lies on the seabed,
to one side of the cables’ anchor-points.
[Narrator]
And they allow production from smaller fields that otherwise would not be economically viable.
[Animated sequence]
The image continues to rotate to give us a 360◦ view of the platform and equipment in the cutaway.
[Narrator]
Seismic technology and state-of-the-art visualisations have provided a quantum leap in our ability to
explore for new geological plays and discover new resources near existing fields.
[Animated sequence]
The platform fades away to be replaced by a vessel, smaller than the tanker, floating on the ocean
surface. A series of concave rays pulsate from the vessel in a widening zone down to the seabed.
The cuboid cutaway fades away, the grey seabed transforming into a square of grey flooring, and a
bright-yellow image of a person seated behind a desk, working on a computer, materializes. Three
moving figures materialise one-by-one to stand around the desk.
[Narrator]
These technologies led to the discovery of millions of barrels of oil in the Gulf of Mexico, areas
previously thought to be dry, extending their production and lifespan by decades.
[Animated sequence]
The three figures fade away, followed by the desk and the person seated behind it. The floor finally
fades away as a cuboid cutaway of seabed and ocean materialise. Oil deposits are visible in the seabed.
As the image rotates, the seabed grows vertically and the ocean disappears. We now see a cuboid
cutaway of seabed and oil deposits.
[Narrator]
Also drilling rigs have come a long way. Shell is collaborating with drilling contractors to deliver a new
generation of drilling rigs like the Bully drillships. These are shorter, lighter, feature advanced on-board
safety systems and consume less fuel.
[Animated sequence]
The seabed image fades away as another cuboid cutaway of undulating seabed and ocean materialise in
its place. A ship with a very tall mast floats on the ocean-surface. A narrow, rigid pipe extends from the
ship’s hull, in line with the mast, down to the seabed. Once the pipe touches the seabed, what appears
to be a short sleeve for the pipe begins to descend along the pipe from the ship’s hull to the seabed.
The image continues to rotate and fades into a black screen.
[Music ends]
[Graphics]
Shell logo on white background.
[Text displays]
Copyright, Shell International Limited 2014