HOUSTON, October 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

A consortium of companies, including Royal Dutch Shell plc ("Shell") (NYSE:RDS.A)(NYSE:RDS.B), Petrobras, Total, CNPC and CNOOC, won today a 35-year production sharing contract to develop the giant Libra pre-salt oil discovery located in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. The Brazilian regulator, Agência Nacional do Petróleo (ANP), estimates Libra's recoverable resources of between 8 to 12 billion barrels of oil.

"The Libra oil discovery in Brazil is one of the largest deep water oil accumulations in the world. We look forward to applying Shell's global deep water experience and technology, to support the profitable development of this exciting opportunity," said Peter Voser, Chief Executive Officer, Royal Dutch Shell.

Shell holds 20% in the consortium, with Petrobras 40% as operator, Total 20%, CNPC 10% and CNOOC 10%. The consortium will work together in an integrated fashion to support Petrobras, the most experienced operator in the Brazilian pre-salt, and will incorporate each company's deep water skills, people and technology for the success of the venture.

The production sharing contract is expected to be signed in November 2013. As part of the winning bid, Shell will pay its 20-percent share of the total signing bonus of USD $1.4 billion [3.0 billion reais], and fulfill the minimum work program no later than end 2017.

The ultra-deep water Libra accumulation is located in Santos Basin, approximately 170 kilometers (105 miles) off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. The block covers approximately 1,550 square kilometers in water depths of around 2,000 meters (6,500 feet).   The reservoir depth is around 3,500 meters below the sea floor (11,500 feet).   The ANP estimates that total gross peak oil production could reach 1.4 million barrels per day.  Further appraisal is required to firm up this estimate, the development concept and a first oil date.  

Shell is one of the industry's pioneers in deep water oil and gas with some 330,000 boe/d of production, world-wide, from deep water in 2012.  Our commitment to technology and innovation continues to be at the core of our strategy. As energy projects become more complex and more technically demanding, we believe our engineering expertise will be a deciding factor in the growth of our businesses.  

Shell was the first International Oil Company to produce on a commercial scale in Brazil and has more than 100 years of history within the country, with circa 65,000 boe/d of operated production in 2012.  Shell is currently operating two Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels in Brazil's offshore - the Espírito Santo at Parque das Conchas and the Fluminense at the Bijupirá/Salema fields - and has recently announced projects to expand production at both fields. Shell also operates and owns an 80% interest in the BM-S-54 block, where the Gato do Mato discovery is being appraised. Shell has also other interests in Brazil, particularly our Lubricants business and our joint venture Raízen, the leading sugar cane ethanol producer and fuels retailer.

Cautionary Note

The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate entities. In this announcement "Shell", "Shell group" and "Royal Dutch Shell" are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" are also used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies. '‘Subsidiaries'’, "Shell subsidiaries" and "Shell companies" as used in this announcement refer to companies over which Royal Dutch Shell plc  either directly or indirectly has control. Companies over which Shell has joint control are generally referred to "joint ventures" and companies over which Shell has significant influence but neither control nor joint control are referred to as "associates". In this announcement, joint ventures and associates may also be referred to as "equity-accounted investments". The term "Shell interest" is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect (for example, through our 23% shareholding in Woodside Petroleum Ltd.) ownership interest held by Shell in a venture, partnership or company, after exclusion of all third-party interest.

This announcement contains forward-looking statements concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Royal Dutch Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Royal Dutch Shell to market risks and statements expressing management's expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "goals", "intend", "may", "objectives", "outlook", "plan", "probably", "project", "risks", "schedule", "seek", "should", "target", "will" and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Royal Dutch Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this announcement, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; and (m) changes in trading conditions. All forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors that may affect future results are contained in Royal Dutch Shell's 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2012 (available at http://www.shell.com/investor and http://www.sec.gov ). These risk factors also expressly qualify all forward looking statements contained in this announcement and should be considered by the reader.  Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this announcement, October 21, 2013. Neither Royal Dutch Shell plc nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement.

We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this announcement that United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC.  U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website http://www.sec.gov. You can also obtain these forms from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.

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SOURCE Royal Dutch Shell plc