Malaysia’s Petronas completes purchase of 50% stake in offshore venture in Brazil

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 28, 2019, FMT. Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas) subsidiary, Petronas Petróleo Brasil Ltda (PPBL), today announced the completion of the transaction for the acquisition of 50% equity in the Tartaruga Verde producing field (BM-C-36 Concession) and Module III of the Espadarte field (Espadarte Concession), Free Malaysia Today reported.

Both are located in deep waters of the Campos Basin, off Brazil.

PPBL had signed a sale and purchase agreement with Petróleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras), Brazil’s petroleum multinational corporation on April 25, 2019. Petrobras, which is the operator, holds the remaining 50% equity.

Petronas said in a statement today the signing of the closing agreement to mark the completion of the acquisition was held in Rio de Janeiro yesterday.

Petronas executive vice-president and CEO of upstream Adif Zulkifli said the completion of the acquisition of Tartaruga Verde and Module III of Espadarte, as well as the three exploration blocks won in the recent bid rounds in Brazil, were a testament to Petronas’ steady progress in expanding its oil business in South America.

“We also look forward to this new partnership with Petrobras to meet Brazil’s energy aspirations,” he said.

Aside from expanding its portfolio in South America, Petronas also signed six new production sharing contracts (PSC). This comprised four in Malaysia and two in Gabon.

This is in addition to the acquisitions of two offshore blocks in Egypt.

This was in line with Petronas’ three-pronged growth strategy to secure opportunities in prolific basins in expanding its core business for future cash generation, it said.