BP Agrees to Sell Shell Stakes in Brazil and Gulf of America Prospects

BP and Shell have agreed terms for Shell to acquire stakes in two BP-operated exploration prospects, one offshore Brazil and one in the deepwater Gulf of America, BP announced on September 2, 2026.

Under the agreed terms, Shell will acquire a 50% stake in the Tupinambá exploration block in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil, and a 30% stake in five leases containing the Conifer exploration prospect in the deepwater Gulf of America Paleogene. BP will retain the remaining 50% interest in Tupinambá and 70% in Conifer, and will continue as operator of both assets.

The acquiring Shell entities are split by geography. Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltda will acquire the stake in Tupinambá, while Shell Offshore Inc. will acquire the stake in Conifer and will enter all five leases covering the prospect.

BP said the transactions support its disciplined approach to capital allocation in service of becoming a simpler, stronger, more valuable company.

Gordon Birrell, BP’s executive vice president for upstream, said: “Brazil and the Gulf of America are important regions for bp, and bringing together two experienced operators can help unlock the potential of both opportunities. This collaboration will help strengthen our position in both as we progress exploration activity.”

Completion of the Tupinambá transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals, BP said. The company did not disclose financial terms for either transaction in its announcement.

How the Two Positions Were Assembled

BP was awarded the Tupinambá block in December 2023 under the second production-sharing Permanent Offer cycle. Pré-Sal Petróleo S/A will continue to manage the Production Sharing Contract on behalf of Brazil’s federal government following Shell’s entry into the block.

The Conifer position was built through two US offshore lease sales. BP was awarded four leases covering the Conifer prospect in August 2023 following Lease Sale 259, and the fifth lease was awarded in February 2026 following the BBG-1 Lease Sale.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management held Lease Sale 259 on March 29, 2023, as required by Congressional direction in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, according to BOEM. The sale generated $263,801,783 in high bids for 313 tracts covering 1.6 million acres in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. A total of 32 companies participated, submitting $309,798,397 in total bids, and the sale offered approximately 13,600 unleased blocks covering approximately 73 million acres across the Gulf’s Western, Central and Eastern Planning Areas.

BOEM said leases resulting from the sale include stipulations to mitigate potential adverse effects on protected species and to avoid potential conflicts with other ocean uses in the region. Revenues received from offshore oil and gas leases — including high bids, rental payments and royalty payments — are directed to the US Treasury, the Gulf Coast states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama and their local governments, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and the Historic Preservation Fund, the bureau said.

On February 24, 2026, BOEM announced a Record of Decision reaffirming its prior decisions regarding Gulf of America Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas Lease Sales 259 and 261. That decision followed the August 29, 2025, publication of the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Gulf of America regional lease sales and post-lease activities, which provides a framework for future environmental review of post-lease plans, permits and site-specific activities, according to the bureau.

BP’s Brazil Position and Drilling Schedule

On activity at the two prospects, BP said the Tupinambá exploration well is expected to spud soon, while the Conifer exploration well is expected to be drilled in 2027.

The farm-down adds a partner to a Brazil portfolio that BP has been expanding. The company said in August 2025 that it holds an interest in eight offshore blocks across three basins in Brazil, operating four of them, and that it has been present in the country for more than 50 years. BP also said at the time that an exploration well was planned for the Tupinambá block in 2026.

That disclosure accompanied BP’s announcement of an oil and gas discovery at the Bumerangue block, also in the Santos Basin, 404 kilometres from Rio de Janeiro in a water depth of 2,372 metres. BP holds 100% participation in Bumerangue, with Pré-Sal Petróleo S.A. as Production Sharing Contract manager, and secured the block in December 2022 during the first cycle of Brazil’s open-acreage production-sharing round, with terms including 80% cost oil and 5.9% profit oil. BP described Bumerangue as its largest discovery in 25 years, and Birrell said at the time that the company’s ambition was to explore the potential of establishing a material and advantaged production hub in Brazil.