Total, Petrobras finalise alliance

French major Total and Brazil’s Petrobras on Wednesday inked the definitive agreements on the commitment announced in December to acquire Petrobras assets.

Valued at USD 2.225 billion, the deal will see Total land a 22.5% stake in the Lara concession area in Block BM-S-11. The company will also gain a 35% operating interest in the Lapa field, which was brought on stream in December 2016 using the Cidade de Caraguatatuba floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel.

Onshore, Total will acquire a 50% stake in two cogeneration plants in Bahia state, namely the Rômulo de Almeida and Celso Furtado.

In a joint statement, Petrobras CEO Pedro Parente and Total Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanné said, “We are delighted today to see our Strategic Alliance becoming reality. These new partnerships together with a reinforced technological cooperation should create significant synergies and values, mutualizing our operational excellence and further reducing costs on our joint projects for the benefit of both companies.”

The mentioned transactions are in addition to the deals concluded in the interim, such as the options granted to Petrobras to enter Total’s newly acquired deepwater Block 2 off Mexico on a 20% stake.

The companies also agreed to conduct joint exploration studies across the Equatorial Margin and over the Santos Basin. Finally, Petrobas’ alliance with Total will see the two companies work together on digital petrophysics, geological processing and subsea production systems.