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Woman in personal protective equipment in front of a module

Maximizing Potential from Deep Space to Deep-water

A skilled workforce in Ingleside, Texas, is fabricating modules to be sent offshore, to continue providing secure energy for America.

After winning a school science fair, Bethany Massey declared she would be an astronaut when she grew up. She attended space camp every summer to help get her closer to that dream. As the youngest of four siblings, she holds the words of her parents close to her even today: work hard and you can achieve anything.

Although the moon wasn’t Bethany’s next mission, she translated her inspiration and parent’s words to propel herself into creating a career in which she could make a positive impact to those around her.

Fast forward to present day, Bethany has managed projects in the energy field from downstream to new energy projects with wind turbines, and now subsea with installations thousands of feet under the ocean – all along holding her mantra to improve science, people, projects, or communities in any way she could.

Large projects, larger impact

Located some 150 miles southeast of New Orleans sits Vito, one of the newest Shell-operated offshore platforms. Oil production began in February 2023 at Vito, and two years into its production, work began on the waterflood expansion, which will allow water to be injected into the reservoir formation to displace additional oil, enhancing volume capacity at the Vito field. The Vito waterflood project is anticipated to bring up to 60 million barrels* of oil equivalent back to Vito.

People power

On any given day there is a flurry of activity at Kiewit Offshore Services, LTD.’s’ complex, an engineering yard built on the Corpus Christi Ship Bay in Ingleside, Texas. The yard is 400 acres, with a highly skilled workforce of over 150 technicians where these waterflood modules are being fabricated to be fitted onto the Vito offshore platform. As a project engineer for Shell**, Bethany is managing construction of the project and empowering teams to perform their best. She brings together people from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and experiences to achieve a common goal, which is bringing more out of the reservoir. Vito is special because it's a smaller platform compared to the original host design, making it more compact, so people working on the modules must be skilled in precision.

Workers at a construction site
Woman walking bridge on a construction site

When I first started my career, I never imagined that I would be working on the vast opportunities that I am today: the massive scale of the projects offshore, with a large workforce, where we come together to deliver on our promises.

Bethany Massey

These offshore projects can be multi-year commitments, so teams grow together and build bonds while working together onsite. Bethany participates in “toolbox talks,” getting to know everyone’s craft, asking what barriers she can help alleviate and what the team needs to stay motivated – all working to one purpose, keeping the lights on at home.

I love the innovation that we bring to the front line of our projects. It's the people that deliver, and it's empowering and inspiring them. We know what we do here will enhance the life of Vito and continue to provide energy security the world needs.

Bethany Massey

On the shoulders of giants

When Bethany walks the construction yard and sees the progress of the modules, the heritage of Shell’s offshore footprint is not lost on her. She credits the ingenuity of engineers before her for Shell’s progress in deep-water, and views herself as “standing on the shoulders of giants.” She’s inspired by knowing what she and the teams are achieving on Vito will be felt 25 years from now, creating her own legacy of building for the future.

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*The estimate of resources volumes is currently classified as 2P and 2C under the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Resource Classification System.

**The companies in which Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this content “Shell”, “Shell Group” and “Group” are sometimes used for convenience to reference Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words “we”, “us” and “our” are also used to refer to Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These terms are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular entity or entities. ‘‘Subsidiaries’’, “Shell subsidiaries” and “Shell companies” as used in this content refer to entities over which Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. The terms “joint venture”, “joint operations”, “joint arrangements”, and “associates” may also be used to refer to a commercial arrangement in which Shell has a direct or indirect ownership interest with one or more parties. The term “Shell interest” is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in an entity or unincorporated joint arrangement, after exclusion of all third-party interest.