Petrobras reports on 30 October 2018 indicate the company plans to sell an additional US$ 20 billion in assets through 2019, according to a source close to the company. The source also indicated Petrobras was expecting to maintain a fast pace on divestments despite recent setbacks. Petrobras could complete the sale of its Pasadena refinery to Chevron this year but will not recoup its US$ 1 billion investment. A plan to sell Pampo and Enchova, two shelf mature field clusters in the Campos Basin valued at about US$ 1 billion is also expected to be signed in 2018, according to the source. Since July reports have Petrobras in exclusive negotiations to sell the asset to Ouro Preto backed by private equity firm EIG Global Energy Partners. Petrobras has a big debt problem for a public company and has been seeking to sell assets to reduce its debt but has met resistance from labor unions and courts. From 2016 to the present, Petrobras has divested about US$ 20 billion. However, by June 2018, it had completed just US$ 9.5 billion of the US$ 21 billion in divestment it had planned for 2017 and 2018. It has not released an asset sale forecast for 2019. Petrobras will not make its goal of US$ 21 billion in divestment for 2017-2018 without selling its TAG pipeline subsidiary with a value of about US$ 7 billion. The sales process for the pipeline subsidiary was in its final stages when it was hit with a court decision early in 2018 which is likely to keep it frozen for a while as the decision specified that sales involving units of state backed companies must get congressional approval. New president-elect, Jair Bolsonaro, takes power in January and has stated that he generally favors allowing Petrobras to sell assets but opposes full privatization of the company. Petrobras has another interesting partnership project where it sought bids in May from oilfield service firms Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Halliburton in a production sharing agreement for an onshore field in the Potiguar Basin. The deal if successful would be a first between oil services companies and Petrobras, as the companies compete by offering to boost output the most from the mature Canto do Amaro Field. However, a deal there is unlikely before first quarter 2019. Despite the setbacks of its asset sales, Petrobras will report its quarterly results next week and is expected to reach a major goal of cutting net debt to 2.5 times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization by year-end. The company was at 3.23 for this measure at the end of June.
Brazil, Canto do Amaro