Brazilian oil regulators have approved BP Plc's (BP, BP.LN) sale of a
60% stake in the Polvo offshore oil field to HRT Participacoes em
Petroleo SA (HRTP3.BR), HRT said in a regulatory filing Tuesday.
Completion of the $135 million deal comes at a critical time
for HRT, transforming the firm from an exploration company into a
crude-oil producer. HRT has seen its shares crater amid a series of
management shakeups and exploration failures in Namibia. Polvo produces
about 13,000 barrels of heavy crude oil per day that should produce a
steady stream of revenue for HRT.
HRT plans to drill two additional wells in the area in 2014 aimed at increasing output, the company said.
The approval also clears the way for HRT to flip half of the
freshly acquired stake to BW Offshore, which signed a letter of intent
to buy 30% of Polvo from HRT earlier this month for an undisclosed
amount. BW Offshore operates the Polvo floating production platform at
the field. The sale is part of HRT's ongoing divestment program, which
has included sales of drilling rigs, helicopters and stakes in
exploration blocks in Brazil's remote Amazon rainforest Solimoes Basin.
"This is a watershed moment in the history of HRT and in the
implementation of our strategy to diversify the company's portfolio,"
Chief Executive Milton Franke said in the statement.
Investors, however, are still awaiting the outcome of a
surprise board reshuffling after six independent members of the
company's 10-person board tendered their resignations on Sunday. That
followed the surprise departure of founder and former Chief Executive
Marcio Rocha Mello earlier this year after a row with investors.
HRT operates 10 exploration blocks off the coast of Namibia
and holds minority interest in two others. Some geologists had suggested
the area off Namibia shared similarities to Brazil's presalt region,
where billions of barrels of crude oil were discovered trapped under a
thick layer of salt. Three wells drilled earlier this year failed to
find significant oil or natural gas deposits.
The company's other assets include a 55% interest in 19
exploration blocks in Brazil's remote Solimoes Basin, although a pending
deal with partner Rosneft Brazil would reduce that stake to 49% and see
Rosneft take over as operator.
While the companies have discovered natural gas in the blocks,
the rugged nature of the area makes efforts to generate revenue from
the discoveries complicated. HRT, Rosneft Brazil and state-run energy
giant Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR, PETR4.BR), or Petrobras, are studying
options such as liquefied natural gas and on-site thermal power plants
to turn the natural gas into cash.