Russian oil giant Lukoil has opened preliminary talks with Brazilian state owned oil giant Petrobras regarding a purchase of its assets in Nigeria. Petrobras Africa has stakes in two major Joint Ventures (JV) Akpo and Agbami. 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.
Chief Executive Officer of the company Vagit Alexperov confirmed this in a discussion with Platts.
“We are studying all possibilities. For us today, outside of Russia, the economic indicators have to be higher than we have had here in Russia. When I say higher, I mean 15-20%. In Nigeria, they are so-so,”
Asides the Nigerian assets, Lukoil has embarked on an expansion of other projects in Africa including Cameroon and Ghana.
Why is Petrobras selling ?
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
LUKOIL is one of the largest publicly traded, vertically integrated oil and gas companies in the world accounting for more than 2% of the world’s oil production and around 1% of the proved hydrocarbon reserves.
Lukoil was incorporated in 1991 when 3 Siberian oil firms 1991 when three state-run, western Siberian companies named after the respective town in Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug that each was based in, Langepasneftegaz, Urayneftegaz, and Kogalymneftegaz, merged. Its name is the combination of the acronym LUK (initials of the oil-producing cities of Langepas, Uray, Kogalym. Lukoil has operations in more than 40 countries around the world.
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.
