Brazil's Petrobras in talks to sell assets to Mexico's Alpek

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA said in a statement on Thursday it is in exclusive talks for 60 days with Mexico's Alpek over the potential sale of PetroquimicaSuape and Citepe assets in Brazil's northeast. Mexico's Alpek is the petrochemicals unit of Mexican conglomerate Alfa . Petrobras' subsidiary PetroquimicaSuape in the state of Pernambuco had revenues of 1 billion reais ($304 million) in 2015 and posted a net loss of 65 million reais. Citepe, also in the Pernambuco, had revenues of 633 million reais and posted a loss of 817 million reais in 2015. Petrobras, as Brazil's state oil company is known, has been trying to speed up a plan to divest $14.4 billion in assets to cut its debt load. In addition, to the potential sale of its petrochemical assets in Pernambuco, the company is trying to settle on a sale structure for its distribution division Petrobras Distribuidora. It is also reported to be seeking a buyer for its stake in Latin America's largest petrochemical company Braskem SA. ($1 = 3.2885 Brazilian reais) (Reporting by Reese Ewing and Brad Haynes; Editing by Daniel Flynn and David Gregorio)