SAO PAULO, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Brazilian state-controlled oilcompany Petróleo Brasileiro SA raised $2.1 billion onFriday from the sale of stakes in several petrochemical and oilexploration projects, making progress in its effort to shednon-core assets and protect cash.
Petrobras, as the Rio de Janeiro-based company is known,sold a 35 percent stake in a Santos Basin oil explorationproject to China's Sinochem Group Co Ltd for $1.54billion, all of the shares it owned in a petrochemical compound,as well as stakes in a Gulf of Mexico bloc and a thermal energycompany in Brazil, according to a securities filing.
The sale of oil fields, exploration rights, refineries andother assets are being made to help finance a $237 billion,five-year investment plan. However, selling assets has beenharder than expected. In March, Petrobras lowered its forecastfor the value of asset sales by nearly 40 percent to $9 billionfrom $14.8 billion.
Chief Financial Officer Almir Barbassa said this week that the bulk of the five-year, asset sale program will be completedthis year. A dearth of cash, rising debt and what seems as signsof over stretching caused by increasing goals and projects aretaking a toll on the company, whose shares have slumped 20percent over the past 12 months.
"These transactions represent an important step forPetrobras' asset divestment program," the filing said.
The slew of asset sales comes at a time when investors areconcerned with the possibility of rapid cash burn in the comingmonths as Petrobras steps up investments. Debt rose to 34percent of the company's capital in the second quarter and to2.6 times last 12-month earnings before interest, tax,depreciation and amortization.
The sale of the 35 percent stake held by Petrobras in blockBC-10, known as Parque das Conchas, to Sinochem Group comes inthe wake of recent similar deals. Block BC-10 is located inCampos Basin, some 100 kilometers (63 miles) off the southerncoast of the EspÃrito Santo state, with partners in the ventureincluding Royal Dutch Shell Plc, with a 50 percentstake and ONGC with a 15 percent participation.
In a separate transaction, Petrobras sold all ofPetroquÃmica Innova SA to the majority shareholder of VideolarSA for about $372 million, including debt.
The company also raised $185 million from the sale of itsstake in blocks MC 613, GB 244 and EW 910, all located in theU.S. Gulf of Mexico. The transaction is subject to third partypreemptive rights and approval by the Bureau of Ocean EnergyManagement, the filing said.