BRASÍLIA: Brazil’s state-run oil company, Petrobras reported a BRL 1.2 billion ($343.8 million) first-quarter loss amid lower oil and gas production, higher costs, negative exchange rate variations, and higher spending on idle equipment, especially drilling rigs. The Rio de Janeiro-based firm said last week its total oil and natural gas output amounted to 2.61 million barrels of oil-equivalent per day (MMBOE/d), down 7% from Q1 2015, Kallanish Energy learns.
However, oil production operated by Petrobras in the so-called pre-salt bloc was up 29% year-over-year, reaching 859,000 barrels per day (BPD), while production of oil and gas remains above 1 million barrels per day (MMBPD) since July 2015. Although exports of oil and oil products increased 14% in the first three months of the year, Petrobras was still impacted by an average Brent crude price 37% cheaper than one year ago.
First-quarter investment totaled $4 billion, 36% less than a year ago, with 88% of the funds allocated to exploration and production (E&P) activities. The company’s gross debt, among the largest corporate debts in the world, stood at BRL 450 billion ($128.6 billion) in Q1.
