EIG sells stake in Gasbol pipeline, eyes more Brazilian investments

Reuters - EIG Global Energy Partners has sold its stake in the Brazilian portion of the Bolivia-Brazil natural gas pipeline, widely known as Gasbol, to Fluxys Belgium NV, the chief executive officer of the U.S.-based company said.

EIG is moving to buy a bigger piece of the same pipeline, as well as additional assets, and invest in Brazil's natural gas industry, CEO Blair Thomas told Reuters in a video interview. He did not disclose the value of the deal with Fluxys.

EIG has multi-billion dollar firepower to acquire assets in transport, processing and eventually production of natural gas in Brazil, which is Latin America's largest economy.

"This is about liberating us for a wider strategy," Thomas said.

The sale of EIG's 27.5% stake in the Brazilian part of the pipeline ends a regulatory conflict that could have prevented it from bidding for a 51% stake in the same asset that Brazil's state-run oil firm Petrobras plans to sell, he said.

The specific fund in which the pipeline investment was in will be closed, Thomas said. The Bolivian side of the pipeline, in which EIG has a 38% stake, will eventually be sold as well, he said, without revealing further details.

The Bolivia-Brazil natural gas pipeline connects natural gas reserves in the Andean nation to the major economic and industrial hubs of Brazil, according to EIG's website.

The pipeline is comprised of two separate entities: Gas TransBoliviano S.A. (GTB) and Transportadora Brasileira Gasoduto Bolívia-Brasil S.A. (TBG), which own and operate the Bolivian and Brazilian sections, respectively.

• Most Read
• Most Commented