The Brazilian government approved the sale of SK Innovation’s Brazilian subsidiary to Denmark’s Maersk Oil, the Korean refiner announced Wednesday.
The deal, which the company plans to close within one month, was first signed with the Danish firm in December and will see SK Innovation handing over its Brazilian subsidiary, SK do Brasil, to Maersk Oil for $2.4 billion.
SK do Brasil was established in 2000 and holds stakes in three offshore oil fields. The Brazil-based SK subsidiary owns 40 percent of the active BM-C-8 oil field, and 20 percent and 26.67 percent in two offshore oil fields that are currently being explored for drilling opportunities.
SK Innovation said that the proceeds from the sale will be invested in other overseas oil projects that present smaller risk than exploration projects.
The company said it will seek out active oil fields or acquire overseas oil developers with the funds raised from the sale.
According to SK Innovation, the deal will be the first case of stakes in overseas oil projects owned by a non-state operated Korean firm being sold to a major oil developer.
Maersk Oil’s production operations located across the world produce about 700,000 barrels of oil on a daily basis.
SK Innovation is Korea’s largest refiner with stakes in 26 oil exploration, development and production projects in 16 countries. At the end of 2010, the company’s daily production volume stood at 59,000 barrels.
By Choi He-suk (
cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)
