Shell has plans to invest around US$ 2 billion per year in its activities in Brazil until 2025, but may increase this amount to take advantage of new acquisition opportunities in the three oil and gas auctions.
Shell's vice president of exploration for North America and Brazil, Martin Stauble, said during OTC Houston 2019 that Brazil is currently the main driver of Capex for the oil company. Despite the appetite for Brazil, the executive stated that the country still presents some challenges: “It is still very difficult to obtain seismic permits”, he informed.
The company's global president, Ben van Beurden, says that the company's offensive in the country will not focus only on the oil sector and that the Anglo-Dutch multinational's expansion plan also includes natural gas, biofuels and solar energy. Entry into refining, in turn, is ruled out.
Asked if the company is interested in the package of eight refineries offered for sale by Petrobras, Ben van Beurden explained that Shell has sold a large part of its refining assets around the world in recent years, and that the company's focus today is on refineries integrated with petrochemical complexes and marketing hubs. global. “Brazil may become an integrated center in the future, but not for us at the moment”, he commented.
The executive met this Wednesday, May 08, with President Jair Bolsonaro to, according to van Beurden, express Shell's "trust and commitment" to the country and listen to the government's plans for the sector. The company's forecast is that its production in deep waters may exceed the level of 900 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/day) in 2020 and that Brazil may represent half of that volume.
According to Beurden, Brazil is at the top of the company's global growth strategy in deep waters. Ben van Beurden said that he sees the auction of surpluses from the transfer of rights, expected to take place in October, as "attractive", because they are assets with proven reserves and in production.
Shell currently produces around 375 BOE/day in Brazil. The oil company operates Parque das Conchas and Bijupirá-Salema (Campos Basin), and is a Petrobras partner in the main pre-salt fields (Lula and Sapinhoá).
While analyzing potential massive wells offshore Brazil, Shell intends to drill two deepwater wells in Mexico – one at the end of the year and another in January 2020.
Shell, however, sees opportunities for integration into the natural gas chain. “We believe in gas as the fuel of the future and Brazil is a great market, but we need political definitions to unlock this market. There is a lot of gas available, especially in the pre-salt layer, which needs to find a home,” he said.
“Brazil is one of the most prominent players in biofuels in the world… In energy generation, we want to grow in this sector in the coming decades and Brazil has fantastic opportunities in this, in solar energy, wind energy, but also in gas thermal generation. naturally,” he said.
Ben van Beurden explains that the search for new businesses in the area of renewables and energy generation in Brazil is part of the oil company's global strategy to reposition itself in the face of the energy transition to a low-carbon economy. In February, the company announced its debut in the energy sector in Brazil, by entering with a 29,9% stake in the consortium responsible for building the Marlim Azul gas thermoelectric plant (565 megawatts), in Macaé (RJ), alongside Pátria Investimentos and Mitsubishi. The unit will consume Shell's pre-salt gas.
