Petrobras exports grew 33% in 2020

Petroleum exports by Petrobras broke a record in 2020. In total, the company sold an average of 713,000 barrels per day abroad. This volume represents a 33% increase compared to 2019 levels.

In the Production and Sales report for 2020 that was released by the company on February 2, the oil company pointed out that it continued to record “excellent performance” in exports of the commodity in January. In this sense, the state-owned company mentions that the Angra dos Reis Terminal (RJ) broke an operations record last month of 19.3 million barrels exported compared to the 18.7 million barrels exported in May 2020.

Petrobras highlighted that exports played a fundamental role in generating cash and preventing production losses during the worst moments of demand contraction. In April, at the height of the economic crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, the state-owned company exported 1 million barrels/day. The oil company reported that the oil from the Búzios field in the pre-salt Santos Basin is now the main oil in the company’s export basket, and the company gained 14 new customers in 2020.

The state-owned company stated that in a year marked by excess supply worldwide, the company managed to reduce oil stocks by 8 million barrels in 2020.

The record export level parallels the records also broken on the production side last year. In all, the state-owned company produced an average of 2.266 million barrels/day of oil in 2020, an increase of 4.3% over 2019.

While the company’s pre-salt production rose by 21.1% in 2020, to 1.546 million barrels/day, there was a drop in operating data in the other areas in which the company operates. Production decreased by 15.3% in the onshore fields (to 105 million barrels/day); by 51.5% in shallow water (to 32,000 barrels/day) amid divestments and platform hibernation; and by 17.3% in the post-salt in deep waters (to 582,000 barrels/day).

Pre-salt accounted for 66% of the company’s oil and gas. In all, the company produced a record level of 2.836 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) per day, up 2.4% compared to 2019.

The increase in the company’s exports also accompanies the retraction of the domestic market. In 2020, the company recorded a 5.1% drop in total sales of oil products in Brazil, to an average of 1.66 million barrels/day due to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, mainly in the second quarter.

Despite this, Petrobras increased the production of oil products in the country by 2.8%. In all, the company produced an average of 1.828 million barrels/day. Refineries operated with a utilization factor of 79% on average for the year, slightly above that recorded in 2019, which was 77%.

Part of this production went abroad. Spurred by the growing demand for low-sulfur derivatives in the international market, Petrobras increased the volume of fuel oil sold abroad by 46%, to 194,000 barrels/day.

The company announced that fuel oil exports remained stable in the last two quarters of 2020, at the level of 204,000 barrels/day, and attributed the growth in shipments of the derivative in 2020 to the market opportunities provided by the IMO 2020 regulation which established new emission limits for maritime transport.

Source: Valor Econômico

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