Nigeria would like to see Brazil’s Petrobras return to its oil fields after a five-year absence, Nigerian media reported, citing a statement by President Bola Tinubu.
Tinubu is on a two-day visit to Brazil, where he said that “We have the largest gas repository. I don’t see why Petrobras shouldn’t return as a partner in Nigeria as soon as possible,” adding that “I appreciate President Lula’s promise that this will be done quickly,” as quoted by The Sun.
In comments on the Nigerian president’s invitation, the African Chamber of Commerce noted the Brazilian state oil major’s expertise in deepwater oil and gas exploration that would be beneficial for the West African oil producer, highlighting specifically Nigeria’s natural gas potential, estimated at 210 trillion cu ft of untapped resources.
Petrobras had a presence in Nigeria from the late 1990s to until about five years ago, when it sold its operations there to focus on oil and gas growth at home. Now, the Brazilian company is eyeing international expansion once again, and Nigeria is on its short list.
Earlier this year, Nigeria’s foreign minister said that Petrobras was keen to return to the country and develop its deepwater oil and gas resources. “Petrobras is no longer active in Nigeria, but they are very keen on coming back to Nigeria. They said they want frontier acreage in deep waters,” Stanley Knwocha said in May.
Petrobras plans to spend $111 billion in the five years between 2025 and 2029, with $77 billion of this total earmarked for oil and gas exploration and production activities, the company said at the end of last year. The new spending figure is $10 billion higher than an earlier version of the investment plan, where exploration and production spending was set at $73 billion. Most of this will be spent at home, but part of the total will be used to fund Petrobras’s international expansion.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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