Hornbeck Offshore Services has signed multiple agreements with Shell Offshore covering well intervention, subsea support and marine transportation in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, with operations scheduled to begin in 2027.

The Shell deepwater contracts include five-year commitments for a riser-based well intervention vessel and a support vessel. Hornbeck announced the agreements on 2 November 2026 without identifying the vessels or disclosing the contract values.

According to the company’s official announcement, the scope covers riser-based well intervention, riserless well intervention stimulation support and marine transportation.

For the riser-based operations, Hornbeck expects to provide a well intervention vessel equipped with an intervention riser system (IRS), supported by remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), engineering personnel and project management services.

The company also expects to deploy a high-specification multipurpose support vessel (MPSV) with ROV capabilities and associated technical services. Deepwater offshore supply vessels (OSVs) compliant with the U.S. Jones Act are expected to provide marine support for both the intervention vessel and the MPSV.

While Hornbeck confirmed that the riser-based intervention vessel and support vessel are contracted for five years, it did not separately specify the duration of the OSV arrangements.

The agreements were announced two months after Hornbeck Offshore Services completed its merger with Helix Energy Solutions Group on 1 September 2026.

The transaction, which followed an earlier merger agreement, combined Hornbeck’s offshore vessel and marine transportation operations with Helix’s well intervention, subsea robotics and engineering businesses.

The merged company retained the Hornbeck Offshore Services name and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker HOS on 2 September 2026.

Todd M. Hornbeck, president and chief executive officer, said the new agreements would extend the company’s existing business relationship with Shell while drawing on the services and vessels brought together through the merger.

The relationship between Shell and the former Helix business predates the combination. In September 2024, Helix Energy Solutions Group announced a multiyear agreement with Shell Offshore for well intervention work in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico beginning in 2025.

That contract included the Q5000 riser-based well intervention vessel, intervention riser systems, ROVs, and engineering and project management services. The work covered activities ranging from production enhancement to plug-and-abandonment operations.

Hornbeck’s latest announcement does not establish whether the new agreements replace, extend or run separately from the earlier Shell contract.

The company has also not identified which vessel will perform the new riser-based intervention work, leaving the assignment of the Q5000 or another vessel unconfirmed.