Oil major BP says it has agreed to sell its 60% interest in the Polvo oil field to Brazilian firm HRT for £87million.
The British group has been selling off non-core assets since the Macondo spill in 2010 to pay for the costs of the disaster.
“Over the past two years BP has built a significant portfolio of upstream interests in Brazil which offer long term growth potential,” said Guillermo Quintero, BP Brazil president.
“We are now actively engaged in exploring this new acreage. The sale of our interest in the Polvo field is part of our ongoing global portfolio optimization as we reposition the company for long-term growth.”
BP currently has interests in fourteen exploration and production blocks in Brazil.
It purchased interests in ten exploration and production blocks – including the shallow-water Polvo field – from Devon Energy in 2011 and farmed into four deepwater blocks operated by Petrobras a year later.
The Polvo field is located in the southern part of Campos basin, approximately 62 miles off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. Commercial production started in 2007 and BP has operated the field since its acquisition from Devon. The other 40% stake in the field is owned by Maersk.
Polvo currently produces approximately 13,000 barrels of oil per day, with BP taking a 60% share.