Brazilian state-owned oil giant Petrobras has acquired BP’s stake in six offshore blocks in the Foz do Amazonas Basin, media reports said. The financial details of this deal have not been disclosed. BP transferred its 30 percent stake in the offshore assets to Petrobras. This means now Petrobras owns 100 percent stake in the blocks.
In this regard, Petrobras said, “The transaction is in line with the 2021-2025 Strategic Plan, which outlined new exploratory fronts outside the Southeast basins, and is part of the company’s portfolio-management process, prioritising investments in world-class deep-water and ultradeep-water assets.”
Last month, five Petrobras board members stepped down following the removal of its chief executive officer (CEO) Roberto Castello Branco. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said he was ousting the Petrobras CEO following a string of fuel price increases.
Petrobras revealed the decision of its board members to step down through a securities exchange filing. The five directors were appointed by the government, which holds seven of Petrobras’ 11 board seats, but investors viewed them as staunch opponents of government interference in the publicly traded company.
Earlier this year, it was also reported that Petrobras has set a new record for annual output in 2020. The oil company pumped an average of 2.28 million bpd in 2020. It broke its previous record of an average of 2.23 million bpd, which was set in 2015.
“The records demonstrate good operational performance despite the challenging scenario of 2020, with a greater focus on world-class assets in deep and ultra-deep waters where Petrobras has displayed a large competitive advantage,” Petrobras said.