Petrobras seeks 40% in Carabobo field tender

Rio De Janeiro: Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras will participate in a tender to explore and develop Venezuela's Carabobo oilfield, seeking to take a 40 per cent stake in the venture, a company director on Tuesday said.

Venezuelan law will require its state oil company PDVSA to hold a majority stake in the project.

Petrobras had said previously that it would only seek a 10 per cent stake in the Carabobo I field through an agreement with PDVSA even though the initial deal, linked to the construction of a joint refinery in Brazil, envisaged a 40 per cent stake for Petrobras in Carabobo.

PDVSA has a 40 per cent stake in the Abreu Lima refinery project and Petrobras holds 60 per cent.

"We decided to abandon the idea of 10 per cent participation and we will participate in the international auction with the objective of winning a 40 per cent stake," Petrobras Downstream Director Paulo Roberto Costa said.

During two meetings between Brazilian and Venezuelan leaders dedicated to regional energy integration earlier this year, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva appeared to insist on a 40 per cent Petrobras participation.