Videocon Industries' 50:50 JV with BPCL-- VB (Brasil) Petroleo Private Ltd, has completed the transaction to acquire 100% stake of EnCana Brasil Petroleo Limitada , for $165 million. The JV firm has also paid an amount of $ 118 million as reimbursement of all the expenses of the Brazilian firm since January 01, 2007.
The unit was the Brazilian arm of Canadian gas producer EnCana and the Indian firms had entered into an agreement to acquire the stake in September last year with the effective date of the transaction agreed to be January 01, 2007. It marked EnCana's exit from Brazil as part of its refocus on natural gas and oil assets in North America.
EnCana Brasil's assets include ten deep water offshore petroleum exploration blocks in four basins in Brazil. Petrobras, the national oil Company of Brazil, operates three of these four basins whereas US-based Anadarko Corp is the operator in fourth basin. Out of the total 10 blocks Petrobras are operators in seven.
Videocon has been partnering public sector oil and gas firms in both India and overseas to expand its energy business. Besides its venture with BPCL, it also has domestic JV with ONGC among others in the Ravva oil and gas fields.
Most recently, it had partnered with BPCL in picking 10% stake each in an offshore oil exploration block in Mozambique. The capital outlay for the transaction was estimated at $75 million for Videocon.
