Talos Energy, the Texas-based oil company has submitted a non-binding offer for Brazilian oilfields Albacora and Albacora Leste, in consortium with EIG Global Energy Partners, and two energy companies from Brazil, reported Reuters.
Firstly, the news agency quotes anonymous sources close to the matter, and underlines that the exact value of the offer for state-owned Petrobras oilfields is unclear. Nevertheless, it provides the names of the Brazilian companies which bidded along Talos in a consortium. Those are: Enauta Participacoes SA and 3R Petroleum Oleo e Gas SA.
On the one hand, the offer is most likely to be around the millions of dollars; sources also confirmed that the offer was given to Petrobras this Monday. On the other hand, production rates from both oilfields sets around the 77,000 barrels of equivalent oil, per day.
The sale is part of the state-owned company to de-leverage from the sale of non-core assets, after years of financial struggle. Moreover, Petrobras has sold over the last two years dozens of small oilfields. The Albacora sale is also aligned to such strategy, but it will be the largest oilfield sold since 2017.
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A change of strategy for Talos
Then, Petrobras sold the Roncador field to Norwegian Equinor, for a total sum of $2,9 billion; therefore, the current offer for Albacora is expected to be around that price. In addition, it will be a substantial change of strategy for Talos, which remains active only in the Gulf of Mexico.
It will also mark a change for Talos; as it has, for some years now, remained in talked with Mexican-owned Petroleos Mexicanos for the unitization of the offshore Zama discovery. Pemex claims the majority of the discovery and talks have been in a rocky path for Talos for some time now.
Such change in strategy could also allow Talos to diversify in its portfolio; still, it has to compete against other bidders for the field. According to the sources quoted, Petro Rio SA is one of the other big competitors.
As we have reported previously, Brazil oil sector is now opening to public bids; after years of just leasing its platforms with long-term contracts that can be amortized over 20 years. In this regard, other consortiums such as Samsung, Hyundai and Daewoo, participated in late January in Petrobras’ first offshore oil leases.
