Brazil O&G association urges Petrobras to push on with last onshore divestments
Brazil’s independent oil and gas producers association Abpip is urging Petrobras to move forward with the sale of its remaining onshore fields in order to attract new investments and extend the life of the production assets.
The Urucu and Bahia Terra hubs are located in the Solimões and Recôncavo basins, respectively, and together produced approximately 110,000boe/d in May, according to the latest data from sector watchdog ANP.
The volume represents 60 per cent of the national onshore output registered in the period (186,000boe/d).
Petrobras has tried to negotiate the sale of Urucu, which is the main onshore production hub in the country (97,000boe/d in May), with Eneva, but the parties failed to come to terms.
The north region province comprises the Arara Azul, Araracanga, Carapanaúba, Cupiúba, Leste do Ucuru, Rio Urucu and Sudoeste de Urucu fields.
Meanwhile, an injunction issued by a court in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state has ordered a halt to negotiations between the state-run firm and a consortium formed by Petrorecôncavo and Eneva over the sale of Bahia Terra.
The northeast region complex comprises the Araçás, Buracica, Canário da Terra, Canário da Terra Sul, Cantagalo, Cidade de Entre Rios, Fazenda Alvorada, Fazenda Azevedo, Fazenda Bálsamo, Fazenda Boa Esperança, Fazenda Imbé, Fazenda Panelas, Guriatã, Guriatã Sul, Jandaia, Lamarão, Leodório, Malombê, Mandacaru, Massapê, Riacho da Barra, Riacho Ouricuri, Rio da Serra, Rio do Bu, Rio Itariri, Rio Sauípe, Tangará and Taquipe fields.
Abpip considers that the slow advance in selling these projects harms the recovery potential of its remaining oil and gas reserves, since Petrobras’ priority is the exploration and production of deep and ultra-deepwater assets, mostly in the Santos basin pre-salt.
“Urucu cannot be left behind because of its size and regional importance for energy security. And, in Bahia, the economy of a state is being harmed, hindering the generation of jobs,” the executive-secretary of Abpip, Anabal dos Santos Júnior, told BNamericas.
He pointed out that Petrobras’ divestments are a win-win situation, where society, private companies and Petrobras all benefit.
“We estimate that Petrobras has already raised about US$6bn in revenues from the sale of onshore assets,” Santos Júnior said.
In April, the ANP said that the production from the onshore and offshore fields sold by Petrobras will reach 125,600b/d by 2025, a 122 per cent increase from the figure before the divestments.
Among the buyers are 3R Petroleum, PetroRio, Eneva, PetroRecôncavo, Origem Energia, BW Energy, Karoon, Trident Energy, Perenco, Petronas, Carmo Energy (of Spain’s Cobra), Imetame, Petrom and Karavan Oil.
Off the country’s coast, the Petrobras assets for sale are mostly shallow water projects, such as the Garoupa hub in the Campos basin and the Atum, Curimã, Espada and Xaréu fields in Ceará state.
But deep-water projects, like Albacora, which is being negotiated with PetroRio, are also included in the company’s divestment program.
A major offshore hub, Marlim was excluded from the divestment program, as Petrobras decided to keep it in its portfolio, considering the improvement of the undertaking’s economic-financial indicators.
Petrobras is also selling a series of onshore and offshore exploration blocks.
