Petrobras gets purchase offer for Japan refinery
By JEFF FICK
RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazilian state-run energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro, or Petrobras, has received an offer to purchase a refinery that the company owns in Japan, as the company is selling assets aimed at raising $9.9 billion to fund its massive investment plan, the Valor Economico newspaper reported Friday.
A Singapore-based company has proposed a $650 million deal to Petrobras, including $80 million for the Nansei Sekiyu refinery in Okinawa and $570 million for oil and oil-derivatives stocks at the refinery complex, Valor said, citing sources with knowledge of the negotiations.
Petrobras is in the midst of a divestment program to raise cash to fund the company's $237 billion five-year investment plan. The oil company expects to raise $9.9 billion from asset sales, with a majority of the sales earmarked for 2013, CEO Maria das Gracas Foster said earlier this week.
The company is also in talks to sell its Argentine assets, Ms. Foster said.
Petrobras purchased Nansei Sekiyu for a total of $57 million in two separate transactions with ExxonMobil and Japan's Sumitomo.
According to the report, Petrobras is also considering the sale of stakes the company holds in natural gas-distribution companies in Brazil, as well as several power plants that use fuel oil and diesel fuel to generate electricity. Stakes in several oil fields offshore Brazil and onshore natural gas blocks in Peru also make up part of the divestment plan.
Dow Jones Newswires
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