Petrobras selling deepwater field off Brazil

Brazilian oil and gas giant Petrobras has started the process for the sale of its entire interest in the Catuá field, located in the Campos Basin offshore Brazil.

Petrobras informed on Friday it has started the opportunity disclosure stage (teaser), regarding the sale of its entire stake (100 per cent) in the Catuá field, belonging to the BC-60 Exploratory Block, in the state of Espírito Santo. The field is around 128 km away from the coast in water depths that vary between 1,700 and 1,950 m.

This transaction is in line with the company’s strategy of portfolio optimization, debt reduction, and capital allocation improvement, as it increasingly concentrates its resources in world-class assets in deep and ultradeep waters.

The concession contract refers to the exploratory concession of the BC-60 Block acquired in Round Zero of the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP). This contract has Petrobras as the operator and encompasses other fields besides the Catuá field, which will not be part of the present assignment of rights process.

It is a deepwater field, discovered by Petrobras in 2003, without production. The declaration of commerciality was made in 2006. There are four wells drilled in the field where light oils were found in carbonatic reservoirs, according to Petrobras.

Earlier this month, Petrobas also announced the sale of its interest in a company that owns interests in 15 offshore fields in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Namely, Petrobras is selling the entire 20 per cent stake held by its subsidiary Petrobras America Inc. (PAI) in the company MP Gulf of Mexico (MPGoM), located in Texas.

MPGoM holds participation as operator or non-operator in 15 offshore fields in the Gulf of Mexico along with an interest in the Chevron-operated St. Malo host platform.