Petrobras to sell stake in coveted field

Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, December 9, 2015 – Petrobras is putting up for sale a quarter of its 40% stake in the Libra offshore oil prospect to reduce its $130-billion debt, the largest in the global oil industry.

The field holds an estimated recoverable 8 billion-12 billion barrels of oil equivalent and will come on line in early 2017.

The asset sale is part of the company’s short-term divestment plan of $15.1 billion. Industry sources told Reuters that the company would make sub-salt areas in the Santos basin, south of Rio de Janeiro, available next.

Petrobras was forced into the sales, which may raise as much as $1.5 billion, to tackle the mounting debt. The company has not had free cash flow for the past seven years, with the low oil price since mid-2014 and a weak currency have also exacerbated the state-run company’s financial troubles.

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