Libra Consortium takes final investment decision on Mero-4 FPSO in Brazilian pre-salt

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltda. (Shell Brasil) announced today a final investment decision taken by the Libra consortium, operated by Petrobras, to contract the Mero-4 floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel to be deployed at the Mero field in the Santos Basin offshore Brazil.

This is the fourth production system to be deployed in the Mero field. Final investment decisions were previously taken for the Mero 1, Mero 2 and Mero 3 FPSOs.  Each unit has a daily operational capacity rate of 180,000 barrels of oil/day. The Pioneiro de Libra FPSO (50,000 barrels of oil/day) has been producing at Mero since 2017 and is a key source of information for the Libra consortium to aid further development and optimize productivity of the field, reservoir and wells.

"As a replication of previous FPSOs for the Brazilian pre-salt, Mero 4 is a testimony to the way the Libra Consortium partners are working together in an integrated way to streamline and make our processes more efficient," said Wael Sawan, Upstream Director, Royal Dutch Shell. "We are proud to continue working alongside our partners to leverage our collective expertise to develop the country's resources in a competitive and responsible manner."

Shell's Powering Progress strategy to thrive through the energy transition includes increasing investment in lower carbon energy solutions, while continuing to pursue the most energy efficient and highest return Upstream investments. In addition to its operations in Brazil, Shell is also the leading operator in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. 

Editors Notes

• Shell Brasil is a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc.
• In addition to operations in Brazil and the US Gulf of Mexico, Shell's deep-water portfolio includes frontier exploration opportunities in Mexico, Suriname, Argentina and West Africa.
• The Mero field is part of the Libra Production Sharing Contract (PSC), signed in Dec 2013. Libra is located in the Santos basin, 170 km south of Rio de Janeiro in 2100 m of water.
• The Libra consortium, which operates production on the Libra block, is led by Petrobras – with a 40% stake – in partnership with Shell Brasil (20%); TotalEnergies (20%); CNPC (10%) and CNOOC Limited (10%). The consortium also has the participation of the Brazilian state-owned company Pré-Sal Petróleo - PPSA, which operates as contract manager. 
• Petrobras has signed a letter of intent with SBM Offshore for the chartering and provision of the FPSO to be installed at the Mero-4 development.

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