Colombian Ecopetrol Acquires Stake from Shell and Chevron in Saturn Field

Colombian Oil Company Negotiated, Since 2018, Purchase of Stake in Shell and Chevron’s Holdings in the Saturn Field and Strengthens Its Presence in the Pre-salt.

Ecopetrol, the Colombian company, purchased a 5% stake in each holding owned by the British Shell and the American Chevron in the Saturn field, in the Santos Basin.
The deal was approved by the ANP and had been agreed upon since the end of 2018. The Colombian Oil Company now owns 10% of the asset, which now has the following composition in the consortium: Shell, the operator, retained 45%, Chevron also 45%, and now Ecopetrol with 10%.

Details about the amounts paid in the negotiation for this stake in the Saturn field, which was acquired in the auction of the 5th Production Sharing Round, are not known.

At the time, the Saturn asset was auctioned off to the British and American companies with a bonus of US$ 3.125 billion and an excess oil of 70.2%, in a fierce competition with a consortium formed by ExxonMobil of the USA, with 64%, and Qatar Petroleum International (QPI), with 36%.

Pre-salt Business

Operating in the sharing system is not new for Ecopetrol; the company already has two areas under this regime, as during the 5th round, it acquired 20% of Pau-Brasil, in partnership with BP Energy (50%), which operates the asset, and CNOOC (30%).

To acquire the share in the Pau-Brasil field, the company paid a signature bonus of R$ 500 million and an excess oil of 63.79%.

With the confirmation of the conclusion of the negotiation, Ecopetrol’s portfolio in Brazil has expanded to five blocks, with two in the Santos Basin, one in the Mouth of the Amazon, one in Potiguar, and another in the Ceará Basin.

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