Brazil: Petrobras looking for US$1.1bn windfall following US subsidiary JV

Brazilian oil company Petrobras has announced that its US subsidiary, Petrobras América, will partner up with US counterpart Murphy in a joint venture that could include a payment of up to US $1.1 billion for the Brazilian State enterprise.

The agreement would include all production assets located in the Gulf of Mexico, the main oil-producing marine region for the US. Murphy Oil Corporation would run the operation, with an 80% stake, while Petrobras would take the remaining 20%.

The company would have an estimated production of around 75,000 barrels of oil per day and would generate a total value of up to US$1.1 billion for Petrobras América, which will help the parastate company in its asset sale program. Murphy, which participates in 20% of four deepwater oil blocks in Brazil, will invest up to US$50 million in securities that Petrobras can apply in the development of marine field production, in case the field recovery projects succeed.