BRASILIA, Brazil, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Royal Dutch Shell confirmed it was a member of a consortium securing the rights to develop the Libra oil field off the coast of Brazil.
Shell, French energy company Total, China National Petroleum Corp., China National Offshore Oil Corp., and state-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro, known also as Petrobras, won a 35-year production sharing contract for the Libra filed in the Santos Basin off the coat of Brazil.
Petrobras serves as the operator with a 40 percent stake in the consortium. The Chinese companies each hold a 10 percent stake and the remainder is divided between Shell and Total.
Peter Voser, Shell's chief executive officer, said in a statement Monday the Libra field is one of the largest deep water oil deposits in the world. The Brazilian government estimates the field holds at least 8 billion barrels of oil.
Petrobras said the winning consortium is expected to hand over $6.8 billion in a signature bonus to the government in a single payment. It said the production sharing contract calls for four-year exploration phase for the Libra field.
Oil workers with Petrobras were on strike last week to protest the auction. They wanted better wages and opposed a congressional measure for outsourcing of workers by Petrobras.
