Shell Plc began production at its ‘Whale’ floating facility in the Gulf of Mexico, which is expected to reach daily peak production of 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent.

The new Whale development is up and running following President Joe Biden’s drilling ban along much of the U.S. coastline.

Chevron Corp. has announced the start of oil production from the Whale semi-submersible platform in the deepwater US Gulf of Mexico. Chevron USA Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Chevron Corporation,

Shell will write down around $400 million in its fourth quarter results relating mainly to an oil and gas discovery offshore Namibia, the company said on Wednesday. The British company told Reuters that discovered oil and gas resources in offshore block PEL 39 in Namibia "cannot currently be confirmed for commercial development.

Shell has determined that an oil discovery off the coast of Namibia is not commercially viable, leading to a projected write-down of around $400m (£325.52m), reported Reuters. This decision is a setback for Namibia's ambition to establish itself as an oil producer.

There have been several oil explorations by major oil conglomerates in the Southern African country of Namibia in recent years. Shell has announced a $400 million write-down related to an offshore oil discovery in Namibia,