Petrobras and Chinese state-run firm partner up to invest in refining

Brazil’s state-run oil giant Petrobras and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) have signed a letter of intent to forge a strategic partnership on the conclusion of the Rio de Janeiro Petrochemical Complex (Comperj) refinery and the Chinese giant’s shares in four oil fields on the Campos bay.

The joint move will include the refining of heavy oil on the fields of Marlim, Voador, Marlim Leste, and Marlim Sul.

On Petrobras’s side, the accord is crucial not just for bringing the construction of the refinery to an end—a project that had been interrupted at 80 percent in 2015—but also to attract fresh investment and give the oil fields a new lease of life.

With regards to CNPC, the initiative will serve as a way to gain access to an integrated refining project in Brazil.

Since 2013, the two companies have been partners in the Libra field—located in the pre-salt layer of the Santos bay—in the initiative that saw the first contract under the production sharing system. Last year, a consortium formed by Petrobras (operator, with 40%), CNPC (20%), and British Petroleum (40%) won the Peroba block, one of the most sought-after in the auction.

The current partnership was built in July 2017, when a memorandum of understanding was signed. The two firms are working together to work out the joint venture.