Brazil’s state-run oil giant, Petrobras, has finalized contracts with Enauta for the sale of its entire stake in the Uruguá and Tambaú fields, nestled within the Santos basin. The deal, amounting to US$35 million, signifies Petrobras’ strategic maneuver to divest these assets, enabling their potential longevity under a new operator instead of imminent decommissioning, the company said.
The decision to offload these fields follows an evaluation aligning with Petrobras’ latest strategic directives. These fields, contributing less than 1% to Petrobras’ Santos basin production, lacked significant strategic alignment within the company’s portfolio, especially with the charter contract slated to conclude by January 2024, leading to the impending decommissioning.
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However, the recent transaction progress has prompted an extension of the charter contract, allowing the incoming operator to explore viable alternatives for the fields’ future(s).
Employees directly involved in Uruguá and Tambaú operations will find new roles within Petrobras’ other ventures in the Santos basin business unit, Petrobras said.
The Uruguá and Tambaú fields, part of the BS-500 concession acquired through the Zero Round held by the Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), are situated in the northern region of the Santos basin, residing between 140 and 160 kilometers off the Rio de Janeiro coast, submerged at depths ranging from 1,000 to 1,500 meters.
With an average production reaching about 5.4 thousand barrels per day of oil and 353 thousand cubic meters per day of gas until September 2023, both fields operate through the FPSO Cidade de Santos, a unit chartered from MODEC.
The completion of this transaction hinges upon fulfilling specific conditions precedent, including approvals from Brazil’s ANP, Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), Brazil’s Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources, and other relevant authorities.
