Petrobras to sell $25 million in stakes

RIO DE JANEIRO, July 2, 2015 – Petrobras will sell $25 million in oil stakes in two oil and gasfields, the company said on Wednesday.

Brazil’s state-run oil and gas company will divest its 20-percent stakes in the offshore Bijupirá and Salema fields in the country’s Campos Basin.

The decision follows a security filing on Monday in which Petrobras, the world’s most indebted oil company, said it would cut spending by 37 percent over the coming five years.

Investments for the previous five-year period covering 2014-2018 were initially set at around $221 billion, but will now be limited to $130 billion for 2015-2019, marking a 41-percent decrease in the new timeframe.

Petrobras said it is also studying the sale of part of its fuel distribution unit, Petrobras Distribuidora.

The company is aiming to raise $15.1 billion through asset sales by the end of 2016.

The Bijupirá and Salema fields have been operated by Shell with an 80-percent stake since 2001. In January, Brazilian independent PetroRio (formerly HRT Participações em Petróleo) agreed to purchase Shell’s shares in the fields, an acquisition that will make it the country’s largest independent oil and gas operator.

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