Libra Consortium takes final investment decision on Mero-4 FPSO in Brazilian pre-salt

News provided by

Aug 02, 2021, 17:34 ET

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltda. (Shell Brasil) announced today a final investment decision taken by the Libra consortium, operated by Petrobras, to contract the Mero-4 floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel to be deployed at the Mero field in the Santos Basin offshore Brazil.

This is the fourth production system to be deployed in the Mero field. Final investment decisions were previously taken for the Mero 1, Mero 2 and Mero 3 FPSOs. Each unit has a daily operational capacity rate of 180,000 barrels of oil/day. The Pioneiro de Libra FPSO (50,000 barrels of oil/day) has been producing at Mero since 2017 and is a key source of information for the Libra consortium to aid further development and optimize productivity of the field, reservoir and wells.

"As a replication of previous FPSOs for the Brazilian pre-salt, Mero 4 is a testimony to the way the Libra Consortium partners are working together in an integrated way to streamline and make our processes more efficient," said Wael Sawan, Upstream Director, Royal Dutch Shell. "We are proud to continue working alongside our partners to leverage our collective expertise to develop the country's resources in a competitive and responsible manner."

Shell's Powering Progress strategy to thrive through the energy transition includes increasing investment in lower carbon energy solutions, while continuing to pursue the most energy efficient and highest return Upstream investments. In addition to its operations in Brazil, Shell is also the leading operator in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Editors Notes

Shell Brasil is a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc.
In addition to operations in Brazil and the US Gulf of Mexico, Shell's deep-water portfolio includes frontier exploration opportunities in Mexico, Suriname, Argentina and West Africa.
The Mero field is part of the Libra Production Sharing Contract (PSC), signed in Dec 2013. Libra is located in the Santos basin, 170 km south of Rio de Janeiro in 2100 m of water.
The Libra consortium, which operates production on the Libra block, is led by Petrobras – with a 40% stake – in partnership with Shell Brasil (20%); TotalEnergies (20%); CNPC (10%) and CNOOC Limited (10%). The consortium also has the participation of the Brazilian state-owned company Pré-Sal Petróleo - PPSA, which operates as contract manager.
Petrobras has signed a letter of intent with SBM Offshore for the chartering and provision of the FPSO to be installed at the Mero-4 development.

Cautionary Note

The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this Release "Shell", "Shell Group" and "Group" are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" are also used to refer to Royal Dutch 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 Release refer to entities over which Royal Dutch Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. Entities and unincorporated arrangements over which Shell has joint control are generally referred to as "joint ventures" and "joint operations", respectively. Entities over which Shell has significant influence but neither control nor joint control are referred to as "associates". 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.

This Release contains forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Shell to market risks and statements expressing management's expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as "aim", "ambition", ''anticipate'', ''believe'', ''could'', ''estimate'', ''expect'', ''goals'', ''intend'', ''may'', "milestones", ''objectives'', ''outlook'', ''plan'', ''probably'', ''project'', ''risks'', "schedule", ''seek'', ''should'', ''target'', ''will'' and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this Release, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; (m) risks associated with the impact of pandemics, such as the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak; and (n) changes in trading conditions. No assurance is provided that future dividend payments will match or exceed previous dividend payments. All forward-looking statements contained in this Release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors that may affect future results are contained in Royal Dutch Shell plc's Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2020 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov). These risk factors also expressly qualify all forward-looking statements contained in this Release and should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this Release, August 2, 2021. Neither Royal Dutch Shell plc nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this Release.

The content of websites referred to in this Release do not form part of this Release.

We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this Release that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov.

SOURCE Shell