Shell completes $840m Gulf of Mexico asset sale to Talos and Ridgewood

Shell has completed the sale of its interests in the Na Kika platform and Coulomb tieback in the Gulf of Mexico. The transaction, which was announced in June 2026, resulted in the energy major receiving approximately $840m in cash. This figure reflects adjustments calculated from the effective date of 1 July 2025 until the finalisation of the deal. The assets were acquired by a subsidiary of Talos Energy and an affiliate of Ridgewood Energy.

As part of the agreement, the new owners have assumed specific decommissioning obligations and are required to provide security for these commitments. Shell will retain offtake rights from both Na Kika and Coulomb through separate agreements with the buyers. Additionally, the deal allows Shell to earn upside-linked payments through 2027 without a set cap. This is in addition to overriding royalty interests on production from any additional Na Kika tiebacks, contingent upon specific conditions. When the sale was originally signed, the total consideration was set at $1.7bn before usual adjustments and potential contingent payments.

During 2025, Shell’s share of production from these assets amounted to 37,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. According to internal projections, neither Na Kika nor Coulomb are expected to make significant contributions to the company’s production portfolio by 2030. The Na Kika semi-submersible platform has been in production since 2003, with the Coulomb tieback beginning output in 2005. BP holds the remaining 50% operated interest in Na Kika. At the end of 2025, Shell reported proved reserves of approximately 4.3 million barrels of oil equivalent for Na Kika and 7.2 million barrels for Coulomb.

Shell maintains significant operations in the United States, with activities and interests in every state. The company states it is the largest deep-water operator and oil and gas producer in the Gulf of Mexico and ranks among the major buyers of US liquefied natural gas. As of January 2026, Shell employed more than 11,000 people in the US, where it has been present for more than a century.