RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil’s state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro said on Thursday it had closed a $1.29 billion deal with Malaysia’s Petronas to sell 50 per cent of Petrobas’ exploration and production rights in two of its offshore fields.
The deal related to the Tartaruga Verde field and Module 3 of the Espadarte field. The deal is part of Petrobras’ divestment programme, which seeks to reduce indebtedness. In its statement, the company also announced it had nearly completed the full sale of its TAG pipeline unit to France’s Engie for $8.6 billion.
“Continuous portfolio management contributes to improving the allocation of capital, thereby increasing the generation of value for our shareholders, in addition to enabling the reduction of indebtedness and cost of the company’s capital,” the company’s chief executive, Roberto Castello Branco, said in a statement.
Petrobras said that the total amount of asset divestments so far this year already amounts to $11.3 billion.
Petrobras said the value of the transaction with Petronas will be paid in two installments: $258.7 million on Thursday and $1.03 billion at the close of the transaction. Petrobras will maintain a 50 per cent stake and the operation of the fields, while Petronas will get a bigger toehold in oil production in Brazil, where it already operates in the lubricants segment.
The Tartaruga Verde field began operations on June 22 and currently produces about 103,000 barrels per day of oil and 1.2 million cubic metres per day of gas. — Reuters
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