Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron through their respective Brazilian subsidiaries have jointly won rights for the Saturno block in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil during the country’s pre-salt oil auction.
Image: Shell bags rights for Saturno block in Brazil’s Santos Basin in consortium with Chevron. Photo: courtesy of P.L. van Till at nl.wikipedia.
Shell Brasil Petróleo and Chevron Brasil Óleo & Gás have been given a 35-year production sharing contract for the Saturno block by the Brazilian government.
The two companies will each hold a stake of 50% in the offshore block awarded to them. Shell revealed that it will pay around BRL$1.562bn ($410m) as its share of the total signing bonus for the Saturno block.
The addition of the Saturno block will help Shell take its total net acreage offshore Brazil to nearly 2.7 million acres. The company said that it will engage with Chevron to chalk out specific plans for exploration drilling in the area won during the Brazilian Fifth Pre-Salt Bid Round.
Royal Dutch Shell upstream director Andy Brown said: “We are pleased to add another material, operated exploration position to our leading portfolio in one of the world’s most prolific deep-water areas.
“We continue to grow an exciting and resilient Upstream business of long-term competitive positions in our heartlands while maintaining strong, capital discipline.”
Shell, which has been one of the main oil and gas producers in Brazil, plans to drill the Alto de Cabo Frio West and South Gato do Mato pre-salt fields in the Santos Basin in 2019. The oil and gas company said that it is moving ahead with seismic studies to mature two exploration blocks it had won earlier this year.
In late March, Shell said that Shell Brasil Petroleo had bagged rights for four deep-water exploration blocks in the Campos and Potiguar basins offshore Brazil, to take its operated presence in the Brazilian waters to 18 blocks.
Shell on its own was awarded the POT-M-948 block during the 15th deep-water bid round organized by the Brazilian National Petroleum Agency (ANP). In the same bidding round, it won three blocks in consortium with Chevron Brazil, Petrobras, and Petrogal Brasil.
In another part of the world, in late July, Shell signed two production sharing contracts with the Mauritanian government for the exploration and possible production of hydrocarbons in the C-10 and C-19 offshore blocks.