Shell announced on Tuesday that it has agreed to'sell' a 20% stake of its Orca offshore Brazil project to Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company.

Shell said it will retain a 50% stake in the project and continue to be the operator. It also stated that Shell would maintain its position as Brazil's largest foreign producer. The company expects to complete the deal by the end 2026.

Shell stated that the deal was subject to regulatory approval, the election of preferential right and closing conditions.

Shell will hold a 50% stake in the project upon completion. Ecopetrol of Colombia will own 30%, and KUFPEC will have 20%.

Orca is a deep water project, formerly known as Gato do Mato. It's located in the Santos Basin offshore Brazil, where it was discovered before salt. The project has a daily capacity of 120,000 barallons of oil. First oil is expected to flow by 2029. The estimated recoverable resource volume of the project is about 370 millions barrels.

Earlier Tuesday, the CEO of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation announced that KUFPEC will sign a deal to invest in a Brazilian field with Shell.

Shell's upstream president, Peter Costello, said: "We look forward to building on this momentum and expanding our?successful projects with KUFPEC" in Egypt. This further strengthens our 'long-term commitment' and strategic partnership with Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. Kuwaiti state media reported that a subsidiary KUFPEC made a 'final investment decision' with Shell Egypt in July to explore gas at Egypt’s Mina West Field. Reporting by Stephanie Kelly and Ahmed Hagagy. Tala Ramadan is the author. Editing by Louise Heavens, Mark Potter and Mark Potter

(source: Reuters)