Brazil’s faltering state oil giant Petrobras admitted on Wednesday that it will come up $1.5bn shy of its targeted divestment tally for the two-year period that is about to end, according to Reuters.
Petrobras, which has vast offshore oil and gas interests, had set a 2015-2016 sell-off goal of $15.1bn.
Staggering from a huge debt burden and reeling from the effects of a massive bribery scandal that has shaken Brazil to the core, Petrobras has been striving to reduce its red ink.
To do so it has used a range of means, including staff layoffs, budget cuts, cancelled contracts, investment retrenchment and selling of assets.
Petrobras said that it would have met the two-year mark if not for a court injunction that blocked its attempt to sell shares of two offshore oilfields – 100% of Tartaruga Verde and a 50% stake in Bauna – to Australian firm Karoon Gas.
As a result of falling short this time, Petrobras has revised its asset sales target for 2017-2018 to $21bn.
