Brazilian state oil company Petrobras announced today that it has begun selling its stake in its Argentine subsidiary. The latter holds a 33.6 percent stake in the Río Neuquén field, Latin America’s largest unconventional gas field.
In a statement, Petrobras said it plans to divest 100 percent of its shares in Petrobras Operaciones (Posa), Petrobras’ Argentine subsidiary.
The sale is part of the divestment plan announced by Petrobras, Brazil’s largest company, to focus mainly on oil and gas exploration and exploitation and reduce millions of dollars in debt.
The Río Neuquén field is a gigantic unconventional oil and gas deposit whose extraction is carried out through techniques such as tight gas. In 2022, production was 1.52 million cubic meters of natural gas and 700,000 barrels of oil per day.
Petrobras holds a 34 percent stake in the Mega natural gas company but has also announced plans to divest this stake.
Petrobras’ partners in the Río Neuquén field are YPF, with a 33.3 percent stake, and Pampa Energía, with 33.1 percent. Both have a right of first refusal for Petrobras’ shares.