Shell has agreed to sell a 20% interest in the Orca offshore project in Brazil to Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC), the company said on Tuesday. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
Once the sale closes, the partners are set to be Shell with 50% and operatorship, Ecopetrol with 30%, and KUFPEC with 20%. Shell said it will keep its role as operator and continue to hold its position as the largest foreign producer in Brazil.
Shell said the agreement remains subject to regulatory clearance, the election of preferential rights, and other closing conditions.
Orca is described as a deep-water project in the pre-salt Santos Basin offshore Brazil.
Earlier on Tuesday, the CEO of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said KUFPEC would sign a contract to invest in a field in Brazil with Shell. Shell upstream president Peter Costello also pointed to existing cooperation with KUFPEC in Egypt and said the companies aim to build on that progress, while continuing their broader partnership in Kuwait through work with Kuwait Petroleum Corporation.
Separately, the source text notes that in July, a KUFPEC subsidiary announced a final investment decision with Shell Egypt to develop gas exploration at Egypt’s Mina West field, according to a Kuwaiti state news agency.
