Petrobras share sale may be delayed

Rio de Janeiro: Petroleo Brasileiro SA's $25 billion (Dh91.8 billion) share sale may be delayed as Brazil's state-run oil producer and the government start negotiating the financial terms of a related oil-for-stock swap, according to two government officials familiar with the matter.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is gathering the information necessary to determine the best timing for the transaction, a person close to Lula said on the condition of anonymity because a final decision hasn't been made yet.

The government and Petrobras will seek to agree on a price and date of the share sale that benefits both parties, according to a second official, who also declined to be identified.

Postponed offering

Rio de Janeiro-based Petrobras previously postponed the offering to September from July as it waited for a price to be set on about 5 billion barrels of deepwater oil reserves that it plans to buy from the government in exchange for stock.

Petrobras and the government are treating the negotiations like a "commercial transaction," the company said on Thursday.

"It's natural that both parties would seek through negotiations to maximize their results," the company said.

Lula received separate independent valuations on the crude reserves yesterday from Petrobras and Brazil's oil regulator, known as the ANP, according to a joint statement from the Energy and Finance ministries and the cabinet. The government has requested more information, according to the statement.

Targeted date

Petrobras said on Thursday it's working to carry out the share sale by the end of next month.

The targeted date for the sale, which was scheduled to take place by September 30, isn't definitive, the two government officials said.Investors are waiting for the final valuation of oil in the offshore Franco field to determine how much stock Petrobras needs to sell in its offering.