Petrobras’ pre-salt focus pays off

Brazilian NOC’s commitment to the offshore province and portfolio overhaul is helping offset unstable commodity prices

Brazilian state-owned oil and gas company Petrobras is benefiting from its strategy of divesting non-core assets and prioritising crude production from the pre-salt region. The firm posted strong full-year financial results for 2019 despite global market volatility and the average price of the crude oil it sells falling 8.1pc year-on-year. Petrobras’ focus on improving ‘value generation’ across its portfolio helped lift net income to $10.2bn last year—a 41.5pc increase over 2018. Divestment of assets—which includes biofuel-focused distributor BR Distribuidora, the domestic TAG gas pipeline, mature offshore Brazilian fields, distribution assets in Paraguay and in the US a Pasadena refinery—ge