Petrobras keeps downstream faith despite trend
Brazil’s Petrobras is ramping up its refining capacity, but the country’s prolific pre-salt upstream play corners the lion’s share of its huge investment programme
Petrobras has shrugged off suggestions it should follow the lead of other major oil companies and pare back its downstream presence. The Brazilian national oil company (NOC) will “refine our own crude in our own refineries and sell it in our own country”, said chief executive Jose Sergio Gabrielli. State-controlled Petrobras has agreed an ambitious $225 billion, five-year investment programme – one of the largest in the corporate world (see Figure 1). The company had hoped to kick-start the plan earlier, but the Brazilian government pressured it to trim its spending plans in the face of rising domestic inflation. Better returns from integration Originally, Petrobras is believed to have tabl
Also in this section
2 April 2026
Alongside a rapid continued build-out of renewables, China’s latest five-year plan stresses the value of domestic hydrocarbon production for energy security and calls for increased Russian gas imports
2 April 2026
The government is taking important steps to revive domestic production, lift investment and benefit from the geopolitical crisis even if more needs to be done in the longer term
1 April 2026
Golden Pass’s startup offers QatarEnergy a timely boost but may also force a difficult choice between honouring disrupted contracts and capitalising on soaring spot LNG prices
1 April 2026
It is not a case of if or when, but the length and magnitude of economic damage from elevated oil prices
