Petrobras undeterred by tumbling profits

Hefty financial losses and a depressed oil market fail to sway Brazilian NOC from pursuing ambitious upstream strategy

The first half of the year was dire for Brazilian state oil firm Petrobras. The producer posted a combined $10.1bn loss, driven mainly by the oil price shock of Covid-19, currency devaluation and $13bn in impairment charges. But things could have been much worse. The rapid return of Chinese oil demand in Q2 proved a godsend for the company. Despite the price of Brent falling 42pc and oil exports tumbling by 118,000bl/d in Q2 compared with Q1, shipments bound for China almost doubled to 87pc of total exports, offsetting much of the decline from other regions. With the gradual reopening of the global economy and a robust Chinese market, Petrobras is forecasting a much better second half of the