By Jeffrey T. Lewis 



  SÃO PAULO--Brazilian oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, said Thursday night it has begun the process of selling off stakes in five power companies as part of its program of divesting non-core assets. 


  Rio de Janeiro-based Petrobras is selling its 20% stakes in generating companies Brasympe Energia SA, Energetica Suape II SA and Termoeletrica Potiguar SA, along with its 40% share of Companhia Energetica Manauara SA and its 30% stake in Brentech Energia SA. 


  The company is selling its part of the companies to raise money to pay down its debt and to focus its investment and development efforts on its rich offshore fields near the coasts of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo states. 


  Those offshore fields, in what is known as the pre-salt area because they are under a layer of salt that itself is deep beneath the sea floor, represented 69.5% of Brazil's total production of oil and gas in April of this year, according to the country's National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency, or ANP. 


  Write to Jeffrey T. Lewis at jeffrey.lewis@wsj.com