Shell owns 32% of the joint venture and is the field operator. Fram was cleared for development last October and, at that time, the companies expected production to reach 35,000 barrels a day of oil equivalent using a floating production storage and off-loading (FPSO) rig. That is not a huge project by Shell’s or Exxon’s standards — Shell’s production totaled about 3.2 million barrels a day in 2011 and Exxon’s topped 4 billion barrels a day. But it is a decent size and is located in an area that is not subject to the turmoil of many of the major companies’ wells.
There is no indication in Shell’s announcement of whether the “unexpected” results were good news or bad. Generally speaking, though, if the initial drilling showed a better-than-expected result, Shell almost certainly would have said so.
Shell stock is up about 0.6% in very early trading this morning, at $65.54 in a 52-week range of $60.62 to $74.09.
Are You Ahead, or Behind on Retirement? (sponsor)
If you’re one of the over 4 Million Americans set to retire this year, you may want to pay attention. Many people have worked their whole lives preparing to retire without ever knowing the answer to the most important question: are you ahead, or behind on your retirement goals?
Don’t make the same mistake. It’s an easy question to answer. A quick conversation with a financial advisor can help you unpack your savings, spending, and goals for your money. With SmartAsset’s free tool, you can connect with vetted financial advisors in minutes.
Why wait? Click here to get started today!
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.
You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.