BP PLC has signed an agreement with Shell PLC to sell part of its ownership in the Tupinambá exploration block in Brazil’s offshore Santos Basin and five leases containing the Conifer exploration prospect on the United States side of the Gulf of America.
Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltda will buy 50 percent in Tupinambá. Shell Offshore Inc will acquire 30 percent in the deepwater Paleogene leases on the U.S. Gulf, BP said in an online statement.
One of the five Gulf leases was awarded only this year as part of the Trump administration’s Big Beautiful Gulf 1 Lease Sale. Conifer is part of four leases awarded to BP 2023 under Lease Sale 259.
“The transactions support BP’s disciplined approach to capital allocation in service of becoming a simpler, stronger, more valuable company”, BP said.
BP upstream executive vice president Gordon Birrell said, “Brazil and the Gulf of America are important regions for BP, and bringing together two experienced operators can help unlock the potential of both opportunities”.
BP will remain operator in Tupinambá and Conifer with stakes of 50 percent and 70 percent respectively.
On the other hand, Shell earlier this year agreed to sell its portion of the BP-operated Na Kika, a 50:50 joint venture that is Shell’s only non-operated platform in the Gulf of America. The $1.7 billion divestments to Ridgewood Energy Corp and Talos Energy Inc include associated fields and Shell’s 100 percent ownership in the Coulomb tieback.
“The Gulf of America is one of our highest-value basins, and we are actively shaping our portfolio to ensure our upstream business continues to be resilient and increasingly competitive,” Shell upstream president Peter Costello said in a press release June 30 announcing the divestments. “We remain focused on sustaining our material liquids production into the next decade”.
The Na Kika semisubmersible platform contributed 37,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day to Shell’s production in 2025, Shell said. Na Kika started production 2003. Coulomb, tied back to the platform, went online 2005.
Na Kika accounted for 4.3 million boe of Shell’s proven reserves at the end of 2025, while Coulomb accounted for 7.2 million boe, Shell noted.
“According to Shell’s modeling, Na Kika and Coulomb will not be meaningful contributors to production by 2030”, it said.
“Shell Trading U.S. Co will retain rights to offtake from Na Kika and Coulomb through negotiated agreements with the buyers”, Shell added.
Shell said the transactions involving Na Kika and the four associated fields – Ariel, Fourier, Herschel and Kepler – were subject to BP waiving its right to purchase the stake it did not already own. BP had 30 days to exercise that preferential right upon notification by the sale and purchase parties.
“The transaction has an effective date of July 1, 2025, and is expected to close by the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals”, Shell confirmed in its quarterly report July 30.
Source: rigzone.com