Shell Brasil, a subsidiary of British oil major Shell, and Brazil’s state-owned Petrobras have acquired additional stakes in Brazil’s pre-salt oil projects, Atapu and Mero.
This move follows a non-contracted areas auction led by Pré-Sal Petróleo (PPSA), a Brazilian state-owned enterprise that manages oil and gas contracts.
A consortium led by Petrobras, holding an 80% share alongside Shell Brasil Petróleo with 20%, secured a 3.5% interest in the production sharing agreement (PSA) for the Mero shared reservoir. The consortium’s winning bid totalled $1.47bn (7.8bn reais).
Following this move, Petrobras has increased its stake in the Mero shared reservoir from 38.6% to 41.4%.
Furthermore, in partnership with Shell (26.76%), Petrobras (73.24%) acquired an additional 0.950% interest in the PSA for the Atapu shared reservoir, with a final offer of $189m.
As a result, Petrobras has raised its share in Atapu from 65.687% to 66.38%.
Shell Brasil also raised its participating interest – from 16.663% to 16.917% in Atapu and from 19.3% to 20% in Mero.
With payments scheduled for December 2025 and contracts expected to be signed by March 2026, the increased stakes are set to take effect from 2027.
Shell upstream president Peter Costello said: “Today’s winning bid reinforces our disciplined approach to grow Shell’s high-margin portfolio in Brazil.
“Our assets in Brazil are among the most competitive in our global portfolio, combining strong performance with a low carbon footprint.”
The Mero project comprises four floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) units, namely Guanabara (Mero 1), Sepetiba (Mero 2) , Marechal Duque de Caxias (Mero 3), and Alexandre de Gusmão (Mero 4). These came online in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively.
The four FPSOs and an early production system (EPS) have a total combined gross installed production capacity of 770,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd).
The Atapu project commenced production in 2020 via the P-70 FPSO, with a capacity of 150,000bopd. A second FPSO, P-84, is under construction and is expected to add 225,000bopd of capacity.
Petrobras’ involvement in this PPSA auction aligns with its long-term strategy, as outlined in its 2026–30 Business Plan. This participation is part of its commitment to replenishing its oil and gas reserves while prioritising both economic viability and environmental sustainability.
Shell said that the acquisition increases its presence in regions where it already operates and supports its production target of 1.4 million barrels per day until 2030.
In June, TotalEnergies signed an agreement with Shell Brasil Petróleo to increase its interest in the operated Lapa offshore field in Brazil to 48%.
