Repsol to sell RI oil wells

Repsol to sell RI oil wells

MADRID (AFP): Spanish oil company Repsol-YPF is planning to sell off its wells in the Java Sea to Indonesia's Pertamina to help reduce its heavy debt load, Expansion daily reported Saturday.

Pertamina has however run into financing difficulties and has not yet made a firm offer for the wells, valued at about $800 million (868 million euros), Expansion said. The wells produce some 122,000 barrels a day.

The Spanish oil group needs to reduce its debt, which could reach 20.7 billion euros by the end of the year, analysts told Expansion. The debt was largely due to the purchase of YPF of Argentina in 1999 for $13.158 billion.