Brazilian Oil giant, Petrobras has announced its intentions to sell its holdings in Petrobras Africa which has stakes in two major Joint Ventures (JV) Akpo and Agbami. Two other shareholders of the African unit, Helios Investments and Grupo BTG Pactual E and P ( a subsidiary of investment bank Grupo BTG Pactual SA) are also selling their stake. Petrobras Africa has a 20% stake in Akpo and an 8% stake in Agbami, operated by Total and Chveron respectively.
Reasons behind the sale
Petrobras is selling the stake as part of a wider asset divestment programme to reduce its indebtedness. The company has an estimated $89 billion in liabilities.
Why this is a major deal
The stakes being sold are two of Nigeria’s largest deepwater offshore oil fields. The Akpo field has an estimated peak production capacity of 175,000 barrels per day, while Agbami is currently producing 200,000 barrels per day.
Petrobras was established in 1953, and is the Brazilian national oil company. The Brazilian government owns 54% of the voting rights, while the Brazilian Development Bank and the Brazilian Sovereign Wealth Fund each own 5%. The company is listed on the Brazilian, New York, Frankfurt stock exchanges. The company had an estimated revenue of $87 billion for the financial year ended 2016. Petrobras has recently being engulfed in a corruption scandal, involving inflation of contracts awarded by the firm, and bribery of politicians in Brazil.