Shell, Brazil's biggest private-sector oil producer, is drilling two new infill wells at the Campos basin post-salt cluster known as Parque das Conchas to maintain production levels.
Located in the Argonauta field, the wells will be connected to the 100,000 b/d floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit Espirito Santo by year-end, a company spokesperson tells Argus.
The wells are part of the first enhanced-recovery effort in the cluster since a $1bn development phase in 2016, which produced mixed results.
The fields in the BC-10 cluster currently produce around 38,000 b/d of 18°-24°API crude with sulfur content of around 0.42pc.
Shell holds a 50pc operating stake in BC-10. Indian state-controlled ONGC Videsh holds 23pc and Qatar's state-owned QP has the remaining 27pc.
Heavy low-sulfur oil producers in Brazil are positioned to benefit from new marine fuel regulations that cap sulfur content at 0.5pc starting in January 2020. Shell's trading arm already has a sales agreement for the 13.2° API, 0.33pc crude produced at the Santos basin's Atlanta post-salt field, operated by Brazilian independent Enauta.
Post-salt acreage remains a small part of Shell's portfolio in Brazil, where the company has a deep pre-salt footprint.
After completing work in BC-10, the Brava Star drilling rig will move on to exploration wells in the pre-salt Sul Gato do Mato and Alto de Cabo Frio Oeste blocks—areas awarded during Brazil's second and third production-sharing rounds, respectively.
The company plans to invest around $2bn a year in Brazil over the next five years, executives have said.
Shell's chief executive Ben van Beurden is scheduled to hold his first meeting with Brazil's far-right president Jair Bolsonaro in Brasilia this week.
