Petrobras Argentina said Thursday it had bought 39.67% of Argentinean oil company Petrolera Entre Lomas S.A. for $249.4 million from Petrobras Participaciones.
"This is basically an internal operation," a Petrobras spokeswoman at the company's Rio de Janeiro headquarters said Thursday. Petrobras Participaciones is a Petrobras holding company, while Petrobras Argentina is the Brazilian energy giant's Argentinean arm.
Petrolera's concessions, in which it holds a 73.15% interest, are in Argentina's Nequina basin, Petrobras Argentina said in a statement, adding that the concessions have output of approximately 14,000 b/d.
"The acquisition of this participation permits Petrobras Argentina S.A. to optimize its portfolio as part of its strategy to prioritize its activities in the Republic of Argentina," it added.
In April, Argentina's Neuquen province retracted the E&P license for Veta Escondida held by Petrobras Argentina, along with licenses held by two other companies. The province cited insufficient investment and said some fields did not have proved reserves. The move preceded the federal government's expropriation of 51% of YPF from Spain's Repsol, also citing inadequate investment in the country's energy sector.
Later that month, the CEO of parent company Petrobras, Maria das Gracas Foster, and Brazil's Mines and Energy Minister Edison Lobao met with Argentina Planning Minister Julio de Vido in Brasilia to discuss Petrobras' investment in the country. Local press reported Lobao as saying that Petrobras invested $500 million in Argentina in 2011 and that its investments this year would remain roughly the same.
Petrobras Argentina's profits were $33 million in the first quarter of 2012, down 78.5% on the same period in 2011.
