Statoil buys 66% of Petrobas' Brazil oil licence for $2.5bn

Oil company Statoil ASA will buy 66% of Petrobas’ interest in the BM-S-8 offshore licence in Brazil’s Santon basin for $2.5bn.

The acquisition includes a substantial part of one of the world’s largest oil discoveries in Carcará.

Half of the $2.5bn when the transaction is closed and the rest will be paid when milestones have been met. The effective date for the transaction is 1 July 2016.

Statoil president and chief executive Eldar Sætre said: "Through this acquisition we are accessing a world class asset, and we strengthen our position in Brazil, one of Statoil's core areas, due to its large resource base and excellent fit with our technology and capabilities.

"The Carcará field will significantly enhance our international production volumes in the 2020s and beyond. We are developing a strong Brazilian business with a broad portfolio, material production, high impact exploration opportunities and excellent potential for long term value creation and cash flow."

Carcará, discovered in 2012 on the geological trend of the nearby Lula field and Libra area, has high-quality oil of around 30° of the American petroleum institute gravity measure (API). It is near BM-S-8 and open acreage to the north, which is expected to be part of a licence in 2017.

Statoil said the BM-S-8 licence could produce between 700m to 1,300m barrels of equivalent oil. The licence is in its final exploration phase with one drilling left to be done by 2018.

Statoil and Petrobras are also in discussions to focus long-term on the Campos and Espírito Santo oil basins, as well as gas and technology projects in the Santos basin.