Brazil rules to merge offshore fields, raising taxes, says Petrobras

Brazilian oil and gas regulator ANP ruled in favor to merge the Berbigao and Sururu offshore fields, a decision that would raise taxes on the assets, Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras said on Friday.

With the combination, the fields will have to report their production as one unit, Petrobras noted in a securities filing, saying that this would lead to an increase in financial compensation required by the government from fields with large output.

Petrobras operates in Berbigao and Sururu, which are located in the pre-salt, an oil-rich offshore region off the country's southeastern Atlantic coast, with a 42.5 per cent stake.

Petrobras said the potential impacts to the firm's earnings still needed to be analyzed, as well as its next steps following ANP's decision.

(Reporting by Andre Romani; Editing by Kylie Madry)