Sweden's Maha Energy eyes Petrobras' Tartaruga field in Brazil
12/04/2022 18:48
By Gram Slattery
RIO DE JANEIRO, April 12 (Reuters) - Stockholm-based Maha
Energy AB MAHAa.ST remains interested in purchasing Petrobras'
stake in the Tartaruga oil field in northeastern Brazil after
the company's first attempt at buying the asset was
unsuccessful, Victoria Berg, the company's investor relations
officer, told Reuters in an e-mail on Tuesday.
Petroleo Brasileiro SA PETR4.SA , as the state-run oil
company is formally known, announced in 2020 that it was selling
its 25% minority stake in Tartaruga, a small shallow-water field
off Brazil's Sergipe state. The remaining 75% already belongs to
Maha.
On Monday, however, Petrobras said the sale process was
unsuccessful and that it was starting its attempt to divest
Tartaruga from scratch. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nS0N2VY000
While there was no information disclosed on the bidders,
Maha and Petrobras had entered into talks regarding the stake,
Berg said. Those talks ultimately failed due to
"financial/contractual" reasons, according to Berg.
"Maha will most likely be interested in participating of the
relaunched Tartaruga divestment as this represents a natural
growth opportunity in a block that we currently operate and plan
to further develop having allocated capital investments in the
near term," Berg wrote in the e-mail.
Petrobras did not respond to a request for comment on
Tuesday.
As of 2020, Tartaruga produced about 580 barrels per day of
oil, according to Petrobras. A third well under construction
could significantly increase that figure.
The Tartaruga stake is expected to yield a relatively low
price compared to other upstream assets being sold by Petrobras,
given its modest production. However, a sale would allow the
firm to reallocate resources to its much more profitable and
prolific deepwater operations, which have been the firm's core
focus in recent years.
Maha, which focuses on existing and mature oilfields, has
exploration and production operations in Brazil, Illinois,
Wyoming and Oman, according to its website.
(Reporting by Gram Slattery; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
((gram.slattery@thomsonreuters.com; +55-11-95057-1453))