MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Petrobras to spend US$ 111 billion in five years to consolidate as South America’s top oil and gas producer

US$ 77 billion of the total is earmarked for oil and gas exploration and production activities

Brazil’s oil and gas giant, Petrobras plans to spend US$ 111 billion in the five years between 2025 and 2029, with US$ 77 billion of this total earmarked for oil and gas exploration and production activities, according to a securities filing, and making the country South America’s main oil and gas producer.

The new spending figure is US$ 10 billion higher than an earlier version of the investment plan, where exploration and production spending was set at US$ 73 billion. That earlier plan, in turn, was an upward revision on an even earlier version of the 2025-2029budget that stood at US$ 102 billion.

Spending for 2025 specifically, however, was revised down in October. Initially pegged at US$ 21 billion, the company’s spending plan for the year now stands at US$ 17 billion, which Petrobras said was a more realistic figure in line with its financial capacity.

The latest revision sees daily production resulting from these investments at 3.2 million barrels of oil equivalent cementing Brazil’s standing as the top oil and gas producer in South America. The plan also contains a US$ 20 billion allocation for refining, transportation, marketing, petrochemicals, and fertilizers.

Petrobras currently produces around 2.7 million barrels of oil equivalent, based on third-quarter numbers. That daily average represented a 6.5% annual dip in production, with production from the pre-salt zone down by 2.7% in the three-month period. Oil production specifically fell by 8.2% in the third quarter, to 2.13 million barrels daily. That followed a second-quarter production increase to 2.7 million barrels of oil equivalent daily, up 2.4% on the first quarter, when maintenance work on offshore platforms led to a 25% decline in production.

Going forward, the Brazil state energy major will focus on boosting production from existing fields, the company said earlier in the year, and at the same time seek to diversify its portfolio without losing focus of its profitable assets. Stemming natural depletion at mature fields will be another focus for the company between 2025 and 2029.