(PN) A bitter end for Shell in its endeavor in the Saturno block, located in the Santos Basin pre-salt layer. The company fully returned the area to the National Petroleum Agency (ANP). This information was confirmed by the regulatory body’s press office.
Shell was the operator of the block with a 45% stake in partnership with Chevron (45%) and Ecopetrol (10%) – the Colombian oil company later joined the consortium. The Saturno area was purchased in 2018 by Shell and Chevron, during the 5th Sharing Round. Saturno was, together with Titã, the area with the highest signature bonus in that auction, worth R$ 3.125 billion. The block was auctioned with an offer of 70.2% of surplus oil.
Shell even drilled an exploratory well in the block in May 2020, which ended up being a duster. Since then, the possibility of returning the area had already circulated behind the scenes.
Leave a Reply