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Parque das Conchas (BC-10) - an overview
Shell has been a leader in deep-water exploration and production for 30 years. Parque das Conchas (BC-10) offshore Brazil is one of our most challenging deep-water projects. Shell has a 50% interest in the project and is the operator. Parque das Conchas (BC-10) lies in around 1,780 metres of water.
Key facts
| Location: | Campos Basin, Brazil |
| Depth: | ~1,780 metres |
| Interests: | Shell 50% (Shell operated), Petrobras 35%, ONGC 15% |
| Fields: | Ostra, Abalone, Argonauta |
| FPSO design capacity: | 100 kb/d and 50 mcF/d of natural gas |
| Key contractors: | BDFT (JV between SBM/MISC), Subsea 7, FMC Technologies, V&M do Brasil, Oceaneering, Transocean/Global Santa Fe, Halliburton |
Technology
Parque das Conchas (BC-10) represents a key milestone in the development and commercialisation of Brazil’s offshore heavy oil. The three fields have been developed with subsea wells and manifolds, with each field tied back to a centrally located Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel moored in around 1,780m of water. The development is the first of its kind based fully on subsea oil and gas separation and subsea pumping. The drilling programme uses floating-rig surface blow-out preventer well drilling and completions.
The development includes the first application of steel tube hydraulic and multi-circuit high power umbilicals, which deliver power to 1,500-horsepower pumps on the sea floor. It is also the first application of lazy wave steel riser technology on a turreted FPSO. Initial production is expected to reach ~60,000 kboe/d, with headroom in the FPSO design for additional growth from improved recovery or future discoveries.
Environment and society
Social and environmental responsibility is a central pillar of Shell operations. In Brazil, Shell is the sole sponsor of the Humpback Whales Migration project in the South Atlantic Ocean since 2002. Findings have led to a better understanding of the whales’ behaviour and in 2007 Shell renewed its sponsorship for another 5 years.
At a more local level, Shell has focused on education and income generation, sponsoring several projects in the areas of aquaculture, fishing and handicrafts for communities within the area of influence of BC-10. In partnership with Brazilian NGO Gaia, Shell launched a development training programme for community leaders in 2007.
Current developments
The heart of Parque das Conchas (BC-10) is the FPSO vessel Espἰrito Santo with 100,000 boe/day processing capacity. Built by SBM in Singapore, the FPSO was delivered to Brazil in late 2008 and moored in around 1,780 metres of water at the Parque das Conchas (BC-10) site in the Campos basin.
The first phase of the project included the development of three fields tied back to the FPSO, via subsea wells and manifolds. The double-hulled FPSO’s design required significant power and heat delivery systems needed to drive the seabed lift equipment and process the heavy crudes. The development wells were drilled by Global Santa Fe’s Arctic 1. The fields came on-stream in July 2009. This first phase involved nine producing wells and one gas injector well. The second phase currently in planning will focus on the Argonauta O North field.
Deep-water milestones
