Brazil’s 17th oil and gas licensing round started briskly on Thursday, with Anglo-Dutch supermajor Shell rising to the occasion and displaying a strong appetite for new offshore assets in the prolific Santos basin.
Shell, headed in Brazil by Andre Araujo, took home four deep-water blocks in the Santos basin and agreed to pay a combined 30.6 million reais ($5.6 million) in signature bonuses, with no partners.