Oct 15 2010
Shell today announces investment to support phase II of the prolific Parque das Conchas (BC-10) project more than 100 kilometres (62 miles) off the coast of Brazil.
This significant investment develops the fourth field in the BC-10 block and continues a successful wave of production growth in Shell's Upstream Americas business. The full project delivers an energy resource of more than 300 million barrels of oil equivalent, with production of some 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
"This is another important milestone in our delivery of substantial growth in the Americas," said Marvin Odum, Upstream Americas Director. "Over the next five years, we'll see more projects reach critical delivery points in this region such as last month's announcement of our final investment decision for the Mars B project in the Gulf of Mexico."
Shell began production from the first phase of Parque das Conchas in 2009 with production from nine wells in three fields – Abalone, Ostra, and Argonauta B-West. Phase II for the project includes seven additional development wells, which will reach total depths of approximately 1,100 meters (3,600 feet) below the seabed. Production from the first phase of Parque das Conchas is currently above expectations.
Parque das Conchas was the first full-field development to separate and pump oil and gas from the seabed. Shell's Perdido Development, in the Gulf of Mexico, was the second. Electric pumps of 1,500 horsepower drive the oil up nearly 1,800 meters (6,000 feet) to the surface for processing on the Espirito Santo, a floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel. The FPSO has a daily processing capacity of about 100,000 barrels of oil and 50 million cubic feet of natural gas.
Shell, as operator of Parque das Conchas, holds a 50% interest. Petrobras (35%) and ONGC (15%) hold the remaining interest.
"Bringing this phase of Parque das Conchas to life represents another proud moment for Shell's deep-water offshore teams," added Odum. "The men and women on these teams exude excellence and are backed by a strong legacy of deep water expertise. We're all looking forward to continuing our responsible operations in the waters off Brazil."
Production from the first phase involved two other technical firsts:
- Specially designed steel pipes, which have an innovative kink, or "lazy-wave," allow the vessel to move safely with the ocean swell.
- Huge, electrical cables feed power to the deep water separation and lift system to pump the heavy oil (API 16°-42°) to the FPSO.
The geology of Parque das Conchas also demands extended, horizontal drilling for better production.
Source: Shell Oil Company