A Brazilian court has ruled that state-controlled Petrobras can continue a process to sell several offshore oil fields in the country's northeastern region.

In a securities filing on Jan. 23, Petrobras said the Federal Regional Tribunal of the Fifth Region's decision allows the company to proceed with the sale of fields in the states of Ceara and Sergipe, although a final decision lies on a federal auditing court.

The auditing cour,t known as TCU, suspended on Dec. 7 part of Petrobras' asset sale program to improve transparency in the process.