First oil has flowed from Shell’s deepwater Parque das Conchas project in the BC-10 block offshore Brazil.

The operator, which is already underway with the implementation of the field’s third phase of development (see DI, 1 August 2013, page 6), said production from the field’s second development phase is now flowing back to the project’s FPSO (Floating Production, Storage and Offloading) vessel Espirito Santo.

Shell has a 50% stake in the field as operator, with Petrobras holding 35% and India’s ONGC 15%, although Petrobras is under way with the sale of its interest, with Shell and ONGC taking their pre-emption options to expand their interests accordingly (see DI, 30 September 2013, page 8), thwarting plans by China’s Sinochem to buy its way in.

The first phase of Parque das Conchas began flowing in 2009, when the Abalone and Ostra fields were connected, along with the Argonauta B-West reservoir. Phase 2 connected a fourth reservoir to the vessel, the Argonauta O-North. The third phase will include the installation of subsea infrastructure at the Massa and Argonauta O-South reservoirs.