Page 16 - LatAmOil Week 44 2020

LatAmOil BRAZIL LatAmOil

Petrobras posts its third

consecutive quarterly loss

BRAZIL’S state-run oil and gas company Petro- quarter on quarter in the July-September inter-
bras has posted its third quarterly loss in a row, val, largely because of an increase in production
but it said in its latest interim report that it had levels at pre-salt fields.
also managed to reduce losses between July and Meanwhile, the report said that the resump-
September. tion of pre-payments had allowed Petrobras
In the report, the Rio de Janeiro-based com- to reduce its gross debt by $11.6bn in the third
pany said it had accrued a net loss of $236mn quarter of the year. “In the last 21 months, we
in the third quarter of the year, compared with managed to reduce $31.3bn in debt – around
net losses of $417mn in the second quarter and $1.5bn per month – a key factor for our com-
$9.7bn in the first quarter. In the third quarter pany,” said Roberto Castello Branco, the com-
of 2019, by contrast, the firm posted a profit of pany’s president.
$2.3bn. Separately, the company noted that total cash
Petrobras has attributed this year’s losses to flow from asset sales had reached $1bn in the
the worldwide economic meltdown triggered by first nine months of the year. It did not provide
the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. But it a comparative figure from 2019, but it did state
has also stressed its decision to take measures that it expected to close 10 more asset sale oper-
to compensate for the decline in global energy ations before the end of the year. Another 39
demand. divestments are underway, it stated. ™
“In a challenging year such as 2020, Petrobras
acted swiftly to ensure liquidity during the first
[quarter], the most critical moment of the crisis
so far,” the firm said in a press statement.
“In the third [quarter], thanks to solid cash
flow, supported mainly by the operational per-
formance and increase in the price of Brent, the
company managed to speed up its process of lev-
erage and cash flow generation,” it added.
The state-owned major further noted that its
third-quarter losses had occurred despite higher
sales volumes for crude oil and petroleum prod-
uct and stronger Brent crude prices. The net loss
stemmed from financial expenses, it explained.
Petrobras also reported that Brazilian petro-
leum product demand had recovered in the
third quarter, with sales volumes rising by 18%
on the second quarter. At the same time, it said,
production of oil and gas had climbed by 5% Petrobras says it managed to reduce losses in Q3-2020 (Photo: Poder360)

Executives say Petrobras is going

ahead with major divestments

BRAZIL’S state-run oil and gas firm Petrobras is company’s third-quarter report, executives said
in the advanced stages of various major divest- that the firm hoped to finalise negotiations for
ments, company executives have indicated. They the sale of its Randulpho Alves (RLAM) refinery
said the firm’s deleveraging programme may in Bahia State by the end of the year. They also
speed up after grinding to a halt during the worst said the company had recently received binding
part of the country’s coronavirus (COVID-19) offers for the Isaac Sabbá (REMAN) refinery in
outbreak, according to Reuters. Amazonas, which is located in the remote city
In a webcast following the release of the of Manaus.

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