BlackRock Takes 5.15% Stake In Brazil Oil Startup HRT

BlackRock Inc. (BLK), the largest publicly traded fund manager in the U.S., has purchased a 5.15% stake in Brazilian oil startup HRT Participacoes em Petroleo SA (HRTP3.BR), HRT said in a filing with stock regulators Monday.

In the filing, HRT said that BlackRock had informed the company that it now holds 299,900 common shares in HRT. HRT shares traded 3.5% higher, at 600.00 Brazilian reais ($324.32) in early afternoon trade.

"According to information given by BlackRock, the referenced acquisition does not have the objective of altering the control or management of HRT," the company said in the filing.

The oil company is still in a pre-operational phase, with drilling underway at exploration blocks in the Solimoes Basin in Brazil's Amazon rainforest. HRT holds operator stakes of 55% in 21 blocks in the Solimoes Basin in Brazil's Amazonas state. The blocks contain potential reserves of between 4 billion and 6 billion barrels of light oil and between 10 trillion and 20 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, according to company officials.

At the end of October, BP PLC's (BP) Russian joint venture, TNK-BP Ltd. (TNBP.RS) and HRT reached a farm-in deal that will grant TNK-BP a 45% stake in the Solimoes Basin blocks for $1 billion.

HRT also has rights to explore 10 offshore blocks in Namibia.

-By Jeff Fick, Dow Jones Newswires; 55-21-2586-6085; [e-mail]