TNK-BP may buy 45% stake in Brazil HRT project

May 26, 2011 | Budget & Investment

TNK_BP

BP Plc’s Russian joint venture TNK-BP Ltd. is in talks with Brazil’s HRT Participacoes em Petroleo SA to buy a 45% stake in an oil and gas deposit in Brazil’s Solimoes region for as much as $1 billion, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday.

TNK-BP may purchase the 45% stake after HRT–the operator and owner of 55% of the Solimoes blocks–has purchased it from its current owner Petra Energia SA.

“This is potentially a complicated deal and could drag on for a little while,” the person said.

The Solimoes blocks cover an area of 48,500 square kilometres. According to U.S.-based petroleum consulting company DeGolyer and MacNaughton, HRT’s stake holds 542 million barrels of oil equivalent, of which 84% is natural gas.

The plan to buy the stake has been already presented to the TNK-BP board, which may approve the purchase if the price tag doesn’t exceed $1 billion, the person said.