Danish oil and shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk moved to shrink its Brazilian petroleum operations on Tuesday, selling its stake in its only producing Brazilian oilfield and saying it will write off $1.7 billion of investments in the country.The write off affects two exploration areas, Itaipu and Wahoo, which failed to deliver on oil volume expectations, and the Polvo field, both northeast of Rio de Janeiro in the Campos Basin, Maersk said.Maersk bought the assets from South Korea's SK Energy Co Ltd for $2.4 billion in 2011. On Tuesday, Brazil's HRT Participacoes em Petroleo SA said it bought Maersk's 40 percent Polvo stake for an undisclosed sum.If Maersk's assessment of Itaipu and Wahoo is correct, its Brazilian retreat could be followed by its partners in the areas: Britain's BP Plc, U.S.-based Anadarko Petroleum Co and India's IBV Brasil SA, a joint venture between Videocon Industries Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corp .
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (Anadarko) is an independent exploration and production company. Shares of APC traded higher by 0.3% or $0.32/share to $107.11. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $73.60 and as high as $112.06. On average, 3726060 shares of APC exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 1133796.
BP p.l.c. (BP) is an integrated oil and gas company. Shares of BP fell by 0.59% or $-0.31/share to $52.31. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $40.51 and as high as $53.48. On average, 3839170 shares of BP exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 1257102.
HRT Participacoes em Petroleo SA, formerly BN 16 Participacoes Ltda, is a Brazil-based holding company engaged in the oil and gas industry. Shares of HRP fell by 10.42% or $-0.025/share to $0.22. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $0.14 and as high as $0.64. On average, 102321 shares of HRP.V exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 50850.
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