Sinopec Said to be in Talks to Buy Galp Brazil Stake – Bloomberg
November 01, 2011 2:59 PM
Sinopec (NYSE: SNP), Asia's largest refiner and China's second-largest oil company, is said to be in talks with Portugal's Galp about acquiring a stake in the company's Brazilian assets, according to Bloomberg News. Galp is reportedly in talks with Sinopec and another suitor, Bloomberg reported, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.
Earlier this year, Galp said it was looking to sell 25% of its Brazilion operations, but has since raised that level to 40%. Galp owns investments in several of Brazil's pre-salt oil fields, including the including the Lula and Jupiter fields. The Portuguese company is a third-owned by Italian oil giant Eni SpA (NYSE: E).
In February, Brazil's state-run oil producer Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) was in talks with Eni about acquiring its Galp stake, but those discussions ended with no deal. Petrobras would make for a logical suitor for part of Galp's Brazil assets, but the Brazilian company has not been mentioned as a potential buyer as of yet.
Chinese oil produces such as Sinopec have been actively seeking international energy assets, particularly in South America, to meet soaring domestic demand in the world's second-largest economy.
