Shell Completes Sale of Na Kika and Coulomb Assets in the U.S. Gulf, Receiving $840 Million in Cash

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 22, Shell Offshore Inc. announced the completion of its previously signed divestment of deepwater assets in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, selling its 50% non-operated working interest in the Na Kika semi-submersible production platform and associated oilfield interests, as well as its 100% interest in the Coulomb subsea tieback project, to a subsidiary of Talos Energy and an affiliate of Ridgewood Energy. Shell received approximately $840 million in cash at closing, an amount that includes adjustments from the July 1, 2025 economic effective date of the transaction through to closing.

The transaction was initially signed on June 30 with a total consideration of $1.7 billion at signing, subject to customary pre-closing adjustments and certain contingent payment arrangements. The Na Kika interest sold by Shell is a non-operated interest; the platform continues to be operated by BP, which retains the remaining 50% working interest. Coulomb is a subsea tieback development that began production in 2005. The Na Kika platform has been in production since 2003.

Following completion, the buyers also assume a portion of the decommissioning obligations related to the assets and are required to provide corresponding guarantees for those decommissioning liabilities. Shell has not fully exited the future economic interests associated with the assets; the company will retain an uncapped value-linked payment arrangement through 2027 and will retain an overriding royalty interest in future Na Kika subsea tieback projects. Shell Trading (US) Company will also retain crude oil offtake rights for Na Kika and Coulomb through agreements signed with the buyers.

In terms of asset scale, Shell's equity production from the divested assets was approximately 37,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2025. As of the end of 2025, Shell's proved reserves associated with Na Kika were approximately 4.3 million barrels of oil equivalent, and those associated with Coulomb were approximately 7.2 million barrels of oil equivalent. Shell had previously anticipated, based on its internal models, that the two assets would no longer constitute significant production-contributing assets for the company by 2030.

Buyer Talos Energy had previously disclosed that its initial cash consideration in the joint acquisition was $850 million. After accounting for cash flow generated by the assets from the July 1, 2025 economic effective date through to closing, Talos at the time expected its final net cash outlay to be approximately $450 million to $500 million; upon confirming completion of the acquisition on September 22, Talos reported a final net cash purchase price of approximately $420 million. Talos acquired a 50% interest in Coulomb and operatorship, as well as a 25% non-operated interest in the Na Kika platform and the associated Kepler, Ariel, Fourier, and Herschel fields.

Shell's completion of this closing represents the new "signing-to-closing" milestone for the transaction announced at the end of June. When Shell announced the sale agreement on June 30, the transaction was still subject to regulatory approval and was expected to be completed by the end of 2026; following the September 22 closing, the relevant asset interests and decommissioning obligations have been formally transferred to the buyer group.