Grupo Carso acquires PetroBal stake in two Mexican oil fields for $530 million
(Bloomberg) --Billionaire Carlos Slim’s Grupo Carso SAB reached a deal to acquire PetroBal SAPI’s stake in two oil fields in the Mexican state of Campeche for $530 million, expanding its bet on energy production.
The deal gives Carso a 50% stake in the Ichalkil and Pokoch oil fields, the company said in a statement late Monday. Carso shares, which have been trading at record levels, jumped 2.1% to 181.79 pesos at 8:37 a.m. Tuesday in Mexico City.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has been critical of energy reforms by his predecessor that opened exploration to private investment, nevertheless praised the agreement on Tuesday.
“Why do I celebrate this?” the president said at his daily news conference. “Because it stays in the hands of Mexicans and I’m sure that they’re going to invest to extract crude. I consider that to be good news.”
Slim, 83, became one of the world’s richest people through his telecommunications empire, but he’s been making investments in energy for the past 15 years. The billionaire’s family investment firm, Control Empresarial de Capitales, has accumulated stakes worth about $327 million in Talos Energy Inc. and Harbour Energy Plc through at least half-a-dozen transactions since October, according to regulatory filings.
The fields in the deal with PetroBal, located on Campeche’s coast, produce about 16,350 boed, Grupo Carso said. The acquisition is subject to conditions, including getting regulatory clearance in Mexico, the company said. PetroBal acquired the exploration and production rights to the field in 2016 as part of a consortium with Fieldwood Energy.
The Slim family’s fortune was valued at $102.9 billion as of Dec. 18, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Lead image source: PetroBal
