Equinor Offloads Major Stake in Brazilian Oil Field In $3.35 Billion Exit
Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) subsidiary, Equinor Brasil Energia, on Thursday, planned to sell its 60% operated interest in the Peregrino field in Brazil to Prio Tigris for $3.35 billion.
The payment will be made in two tranches: $2.23 billion (plus a contingent of $166 million upon completion of the second part) for 40% and operatorship, and $951 million for the remaining 20% plus up to $150 million in interest could be added.
The deal’s effective date is January 1, 2024, with the final cash payment adjusted accordingly.
Equinor will continue to operate the Peregrino field until the transaction Veronica Coelho, Senior Vice President and Country Manager for Equinor Brazil, is finalized, at which point PRIO will assume operatorship.
Philippe Mathieu, Executive Vice President for Exploration and Production International at Equinor, said, “Brazil will continue to be a core country for Equinor, as we focus on starting up the Bacalhau field and continue progressing the Raia gas project. With these two operated projects and our partnership in Roncador our equity production in Brazil will be close to 200,000 barrels per day by 2030,”
“This deal is part of Equinor’s ongoing effort to high-grade its international portfolio through asset divestments and acquisitions. We continue to see growth potential and opportunities to extend the longevity of our international oil and gas portfolio, also in Brazil,”
Notably, Equinor has operated the Peregrino heavy oil field since 2009, with approximately 300 million barrels produced to date.
The field, located in the Campos Basin east of Rio de Janeiro, consists of an FPSO and three fixed platforms.
In the first quarter of 2025, Equinor’s share of production was about 55,000 barrels per day. Last year, PRIO acquired Sinochem’s 40% stake in Peregrino.
Veronica Coelho, Senior Vice President and Country Manager for Equinor Brazil added, “We are preparing for operations on Bacalhau, as well as the startup of the Serra da Babilonia renewable hybrid project by our subsidiary Rio Energy and we are progressing the Raia gas project.”
In April, the company reported first-quarter FY25 revenue and other income rose 19% year-over-year (Y/Y) to $29.92 billion, and adjusted revenue upped 19% Y/Y to $29.60 billion vs. consensus estimate of $25.92 billion.
Equinor expects organic capital distributions of around $13 billion in 2025, including $9 billion in cash return (buybacks/dividends).
The company projects oil and gas production growth of about 4% in 2025, while scheduled maintenance activity is estimated to decrease equity production by around 30 mboe per day.
Investors can gain exposure to the stock via Keating Active ETF (NASDAQ:KEAT) and The 2023 ETF Series Trust II GMO International Value ETF (NYSE:GMOI).
Price Action: EQNR shares are up 3.58% at $23.12 at the last check Friday.
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