Tubarao, Brazil News

Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional Bhd. is the latest Asian state-owned oil company to snap up significant stakes in overseas oil-and-gas assets with its planned purchase of 40% stakes in two offshore blocks in Brazil's Tubarao Martelo oil field from independent oil producer OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes SA.

The Ibovespa rose to a seven-week high as Brazilian raw-material producers rallied after a report showing that China imported more goods than estimated last month boosted the outlook for the country's top trading partner.

Malaysian state oil firm Petronas has agreed to pay $850 million for a stake in a Brazilian offshore oil field, bolstering its billionaire owner Eike Batista who is unloading assets to keep his energy businesses afloat.

Petroliam Nasional Bhd. agreed to pay $850 million for a share in a field owned by OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes SA , the Brazilian oil producer whose output dropped 86 percent in three months.

OGX Petroleo e Gas SA , the flagship of Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista's troubled EBX group, is negotiating the sale of a 40 percent stake to Russia's Lukoil in a rescue plan that also involves Malaysia's Petronas, a newspaper reported on Sunday.