India’s Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) and Anglo-Dutch major Shell are both to increase their stakes in the deepwater Parque das Conchas field offshore Brazil after exercising their pre-emption rights, thwarting a US $1.54 billion move by China’s Sinochem to buy into the project, as predicted by DI (see DI, 2 September 2013, page 6).

ONGC Videsh, which already holds a 15% stake in the Campos Basin field, will acquire a further 12% from Brazil’s Petrobras, according to various sources. The value of their offer is put at around $500 million. Last month ONGC splashed out $2.64 billion buying up a 10% stake from Anadarko Petroleum in that company’s deepwater mega-project offshore Mozambique.

Shell, which operates and owns 50% of the BC-10 block, also exercised its right to buy a further 23%.

Petrobras last month approved the sale of $2.1 billion of assets as part of an international divestment plan, with part of that plan being the proposed sale of its 35% stake in Parque das Conchas to Sinochem.

Shell recently confirmed its plans to boost production from Parque das Conchas, in a third phase of development (see DI, 1 August 2013, page 6). Phase 3 will include the installation of subsea infrastructure at the heavy oil Massa and Argonauta O-South fields, to be produced via subsea tiebacks to the FPSO Espírito Santo. The fields sit in water depths of up to 2,000 m (6,562 ft).

Once online, Phase 3 is expected to reach peak production of 28,000 boe/d. Phase 2 of the project, to tie-in the Argonauta O-North field, is expected to come online late this year with a peak production of 35,000 boe/d.