Petrobras sells off first pre-salt asset in Brazil

Brazil's national oil company Petrobras announced Friday that it had sold its asset in an Atlantic oilfield within the pre-salt zone to Statoil Brazil Oil and Gas for 2.5 billion U.S. dollars.

This marks a turning point as it is the first pre-salt asset ever sold by Petrobras, which once counted on that zone to bankroll it for decades to come.

In a statement, Petrobras said its board of directors had agreed to the sale as part of an ongoing divestment plan, with the company to receive half the amount from Statoil at once.

The oilfield in question, named Carcara, is located in the Cuenca de Santos, an area off Brazil's southeast coast. It is currently operated by Petrobras (66 percent), along with Petrogal Brazil (14 percent), Queiroz Galvao E&P (10 percent) and Barra Energia do Brasil Oil and Gas (10 percent).

The pre-salt zone refers to an area in Atlantic deepwaters, underneath a thick cover of salt which can be up to 2,000 meters deep and hides extensive oil reserves, which could make Brazil one of the foremost producers of crude in the world.

To explain its decision, Petrobras said this was part of its divestment policy, launched last year to raise around 15 billion U.S. dollars to face a heavy debt burden and to make up for a gigantic corruption ring within its ranks.

Recently, Petrobras sold off all its assets in Argentina and Chile for 897 million dollars and 464 million dollars, respectively. Enditem