Petrobras simultaneously mothballed an offshore production platform and started a series of binding phases for its onshore and offshore assets as part of its divestment strategy to reduce debt.
The Brazilian major approved the hibernation of the Merluza platform (PMLZ-1) located in shallow waters in the Santos Basin. The platform halted production in March due to weak natural gas demand.
The hibernation will reduce operating expenses but will not affect the natural gas supply to the Baixada Santista market or the Merluza Polo divestment which began in March. The Merluza Polo comprises the Merluza and Lagosta concessions, in which Petrobras has a 100% stake.
The binding phase began for the sale of Petrobras’ stake (35%) in the Manati field, a shallow-water production concession located in the Camamu Basin in the State of Bahia. Petrobras operates the field in partnership with Enauta Participações (45%), Geopark Brasil E&P de Petróleo e Gás (10%), and Brasoil Manati Exploração Petrolífera (10%). The Manati field is located 10 km from the coast of the municipality of Cairú, in water depths between 35 and 50 m.
The binding phase also began for Petrobras’ stake (75%) in the Tartaruga field, belonging to the SES-107D concession, located in shallow waters of the Sergipe Basin. Alagoas. Maha Energy Brasil (75%) serves as operator of the field, located on the northern coast of the state of Sergipe.
Onshore, Petrobras began the binding phase for its seven Polo Urucu production concessions in the Solimões Basin in the state of Amazonas. The oil and natural gas production processing units and logistical facilities to support production are also included in the transaction.