Brazil's national oil company Petrobras is trying to extract as much oil as possible from Brazil's existing oil fields, while looking for new reserves to prevent production from declining in the 2030s.
Magda Chambriard, chief executive of Brazil's national oil company, said Brazil's oil giant is looking to revive old fields such as the Campos Basin, where low recovery rates of 17 percent plague management. The company should complete a refurbishment study of four oil platforms in the Campos Basin early next year or they will be scrapped.
At a time when oil prices are facing multiple headwinds, how fast Brazil's overall production grows is crucial. OPEC+ is preparing to start resuming production at a time when demand from China is weakening. Brazil the challenge of bringing new projects on stream while it struggles to control the rate of decline of old fields, casting a shadow over the prospects for Brazil oil production growth.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts that Brazil's output will increase by 190,000 barrels per day next year. Meanwhile, Jefferies Financial Group Inc., which operates about 90 percent of Brazil's oil production, expects production from Brazil oil companies to be flat in 2025.
Brazil's national oil company has managed to speed up some production projects. By the end of the year, the company will have up to three floating production vessels in operation, with an increase of 505,000 barrels per day and a gradual increase. Some of these floating production vessels, such as the Maria Quiteria, were initially expected to be operational in 2025.
Offshore platforms
Brazil NOC is also working with suppliers to build the production units it needs to continue to expand production in a more economical way, especially in smaller fields with lower production.
Head of exploration and production, Sylvia dos Anos, said the oil giant was optimistic that Brazil's environmental authorities would approve permits to drill in the Foz-Doyason basin on the so-called equatorial edge because it had met all the requirements.
Dividend payments
Chief Financial Officer Fernando Melgarejo said the Rio de Janeiro-based company will keep its dividend policy of paying 45% of free cash flow unchanged, but may adjust its benchmark to optimize cash holdings. This number is important because it relates to how much special dividend a company pays to its shareholders. He said Brazil plans to allocate any cash surplus as long as it does not affect the company's financial sustainability.
Jefferies analysts believe that Brazil's capital expenditure will increase by 10% in 2025-2029, and unless oil prices rise further, there is limited room for special dividends to be paid in 2025. In a note to clients, the consultancy said Brazil's national oil company is expected to face equipment constraints and that measures taken to increase gas supplies to the domestic market will slow production growth over the next two to three years.
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文章来源：Petrobras E&P strategy aims to extract max oil output from current fields
Translated and edited by China International Energy Public Opinion Center