Brazil’s state-run oil firm Petrobras has revealed that it made a non-binding offer to buy a major stake in Galp Energia’s huge offshore oil discovery in Namibia.
In April, Galp launched the sale process for half of its 80% stake in Petroleum Exploration Licence 83 (PEL 83) as well as the right to become its operator.
Petrobras Exploration and Production Director Sylvia dos Anjos said on Friday that if the offer is accepted, without disclosing whether the bid was to buy the full 40% or a smaller share, it would make Petrobras the operator of the Mopane oil and gas field, which has an estimated 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
“We are the best deepwater operators,” said Anjos on the sidelines of an oil and gas conference in the northeastern state of Sergipe. “If (Galp) doesn’t choose us, it’s their loss.”
Petrobras is seeking opportunities abroad due to the “unacceptable” difficulty in getting environmental licenses to explore new areas in Brazil, Anjos said.
The firm has faced stiff resistance from Indigenous groups and environmental regulators, slowing its efforts to drill in promising offshore areas near the mouth of the Amazon River. Workers at environmental agency Ibama have also been slow-walking all licensing this year due to a labor dispute.
“We want to work in Brazil, but if we are not welcome, we will go somewhere else, and we will maintain our production,” Anjos said.
More than 12 rivals, including Exxon and Shell, have expressed interest in buying a 40% stake in Galp Energia’s oil field.
Namibia, which has no oil and gas production, has attracted huge interest from international energy companies in recent years following a string of discoveries by TotalEnergies, Shell, and Galp.-miningandenergy/reuters
