Brazilian Govt May Boost Petrobras Voting Stake To 70% - Report

SAO PAULO (Dow Jones)

The Brazilian federal government is evaluating plans to inject between 40 billion Brazilian reals ($21.5 billion) and BRL100 billion into the state-run energy giant Petrobras (PBR) to finance the exploration of the potentially massive subsalt oil fields, local business daily Valor Economico reported in its Thursday edition.

As a result, the federal government could raise its voting stake in the company to 70% from 55.7% at present, according to unnamed people in the government.

The funding is linked to the unitization - or combining of leases - of the subsalt oil field under which the federal government retains the exploration rights for areas around key Petrobras blocks, thus isolating reserves.

Contacted by Dow Jones Newswires Thursday, government and Petrobras' officials would not immediately comment.

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