Shell counts first million barrels of oil from ultra-deep water off Brazil

Production has now hit over one million barrels of oil at the Parque das Conchas fields 120 kilometres off the coast of Brazil, where ultra-deep water and a constant swell makes for tough operating conditions.

A series of technology firsts unlocked major new resources beneath water nearly two kilometres deep. Huge technical challenges had to be overcome to bring the fields to production. Remote-controlled submarines operating in massive pressures on the ice-cold sea floor installed the equipment needed to produce the oil from deep beneath the seabed.

A vast network of wells and pipelines connect reservoirs scattered up to 20 kilometres apart. In a double technical first, oil and gas are separated on the seabed before powerful electric pumps push the oil upwards from the low-pressure reservoirs to a specially converted production vessel on the surface that stores it for shipping to shore.

And kilometres-long umbilical cables stretching out from the vessel channel continuous power and chemicals — vital to prevent frozen solids forming in the oil — to the production machinery far below.

As long-term energy demand soars, accessing hard-to-reach resources such as those at Parque das Conchas will be increasingly vital. To develop the fields economically, the reservoirs of Parque das Conchas were connected through a single production process centred on the converted vessel.

Production from the fields — currently ramping up — is the latest step in Shell’s strategy of delivering an additional 1 million barrels per day of oil and gas production in the coming years.

At the heart of the Parque das Conchas project — formerly known as BC-10 — is a floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) with the capacity to produce up to 100,000 barrels of oil and 50 million cubic feet of natural gas a day. Shell is the operator with a 50% share with partners Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras) holding 35% and India’s ONGC Campos Ltda. 15%.

“Oil and gas will continue to play a major part in meeting the world’s growing energy demands, and bringing Parque das Conchas production on-stream marks an important milestone for oil production in the region,” says Shell Upstream Americas Director Marvin Odum. “This also reinforces Shell’s presence in the country with a project that has created jobs and encouraged investments.”

Pumping up the oil

To combat the low pressure in the reservoirs, Shell installed 1,500-horsepower electric submersible pumps on the seabed. Each pump uses the thrust of a Formula 1 car engine to drive the oil to the surface. The oil travels through specially-developed steel pipes that are flexible enough to move with the ocean’s persistent swell.

More information

For more information, interview requests or photography, please contact:
Wendel Broere or David Williams at Shell Media Relations
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