Greenwich, Conn.-based energy private-equity firm First Reserve Corp. reports First Reserve Fund XII has provided an equity commitment of up to $500 million to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil-based Barra Energia Petroleo e Gas, a recently formed independent E&P firm led by Brazilian energy industry veterans Joao Carlos de Luca as executive chairman and Renato Tadeu Bertani as chief executive.
Barra Energia will pursue the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and gas assets in selected onshore and offshore basins in Brazil.
De Luca is president of IBP (Brazilian Petroleum and Gas Institute), where he has been closely involved with the advancement and development of a sustainable energy industry in Brazil. De Luca’s expansive career in the oil and gas sector includes his position as president of Repsol YPF Brazil, an organization he helped found in 1998. De Luca served as director of E&P and a member of the board at Petrobras.
Bertani is president and CEO of Thompson & Knight Global Energy Services, where he directs consulting in Latin America, West Africa, the U.K. and the Gulf of Mexico. Prior to Thompson & Knight, Bertani spent more than 30 years in technical and high-level managerial positions with Petrobras, most recently as president of Petrobras Americas. He is vice president of the World Petroleum Council.