Petrobras puts oil exploitation divestment plans on hold
Brazil’s state-controlled oil giant Petrobras announced this Friday that it is putting four major asset sales on hold due to a revision of its divestment process. The company decided not to sell the onshore Urucu and Bahia-Terra clusters, as well as the Manati oilfield and Petrobras Operaciones, its subsidiary in Argentina.
The sale of Polo Bahia Terra was being negotiated with a consortium formed by PetroReconcavo and Eneva. The latter also tried to negotiate the purchase of Polo Urucu in 2022 but did not proceed with the proposal. The Manati oilfield, in turn, was for sale since 2020.
The sale of these assets was kicked off in the government of former President Jair Bolsonaro, as the company sought to focus on deepwater oil exploration and reduce its debt, as well as reducing its number of refineries to comply with an agreement it signed with antitrust regulator Cade in 2019.
Petrobras justified the move to investors, saying it must “maximize the value” of its portfolio with a focus on “profitable assets, restoring oil and gas reserves,” which includes “exploring new frontiers, increasing the supply of natural gas and promoting the decarbonization of its operations.”
In the gas and energy segment, however, the company announced it decided to follow through with the sale of its 20 percent stakes in thermoelectric units powered by fuel oil Brasympe and UTE Suape II, as well as the sale of its 18.8 percent stake in UEG Araucária S.A., a thermal power station in the state of Paraná.
In a separate filing, Petrobras also said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Capital to explore a potential investment in a biofuel project in Bahia.
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