Brazil’s Petrobras said it has agreed to sell $2.2bn in assets to France’s Total, including minority stakes in oil fields and thermal power plants.
The state-owned energy company will receive $1.6bn in cash when the deal closes in 60 days. It will receive the remaining $600m in installments.
Petrobras has sold $13bn in assets in the two years ending in 2016, short of its $15.1bn target. The company intends to sell at least another $19.5bn in assets in 2017 and 2018.
The agreement with Total involves selling 22.5% of the Iara area in the Santos Basin, which includes the Sururu, Berbigao and Oeste de Atapu oil fields. Petrobras will remain the operator and keep a 42.5% stake in the concession. Shell has 25% of the concession, while Portugal’s Galp has 10%.
Petrobras will also sell 35% of the Lapa field, also in the Santos Basin, and hold on to 10%. Total will operate the field, which began production this week. Shell has 30% of the Lapa field and Repsol has 25%.
Total will also acquire 50% of the Romulo de Almeida and Celso Furtado thermal power plants in the state of Bahia. The plants have a total capacity of 322 MW, Petrobras said.
The agreement also involves further exploration in the Santos Basin and shared use of a regasification terminal in Bahia, Petrobras said. The Brazilian energy company has the option to acquire a 20% stake in Perdido Foldbelt in the Gulf of Mexico, currently held by Total and ExxonMobil.
Petrobras and Total signed a partnership in October this year to develop both upstream and downstream projects in Brazil and elsewhere. The two firms are already partners in 19 oil fields and the Brazil-Bolivia natural gas pipeline.