MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazil's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) presented flat production numbers in the second quarter, as the ramp-up off some major platforms was largely offset by maintenance stoppages and divestments, reported Reuters.
In a securities filing, Petribras said it produced 2.796 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in the period, a decrease of 0.2% in annual terms and a 1.1% increase from the first quarter.
Crude production came in at 2.226 million barrels per day, down 0.8% from the same period a year ago and up 1.4% in quarterly terms.
Ongoing ramp-ups at two major platforms, known as P-68 and P-70, boosted those numbers, Petrobras said. Production numbers were hit, however, by stoppages at several fields in the offshore Campos Basin, as well as at some shallow-water and onshore assets. The divestment of the company's Frade field also hit the firm's figures in annual terms, Petrobras said.
In the filing, the company noted strong growth in domestic gasoline and diesel demand during the quarter.
Domestic diesel sales increased 11.4% in quarterly terms and 28.8% from the same period last year, while gasoline sales in Brazil climbed 12.7% from the first quarter and 36.9% in annual terms. In addition to the progressive loosening of coronavirus-related restrictions, Petrobras cited changes in ethanol blend requirements and a temporary tax relief program as positive catalysts.
As MRC wrote previously, Petrobras may need more than a year to divest its stake in Braskem, said Andrea Almeida, Petrobras CFO, in early July, 2020. She said during the company"s recent webinar that Petrobras plans to give more time for potential investors to make offers for the company"s assets, including for its refineries and stakes at its petrochemical and fuel distribution affiliates. The divestment of Petrobras"s stake in Braskem in 2020 would be desirable but "might not be possible" as the COVID-19 pandemic has changed market conditions, she said. The company plans to close part of its refinery sales in 2021. In December, Roberto Castello Branco, CEO of Petrobras, said that he wants to sell the company"s stake in Braskem within a year. Petrobras owns 32.15% of Braskem.
We also remind that Braskem is no longer pursuing a petrochemical project, which would have included an ethane cracker, in West Virginia. And the company is seeking to sell the land that would have housed the cracker. The project, announced in 2013, had been on Braskem"s back burner for several years.
Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 953,400 tonnes in the first five months of 2021, which virtually corresponded to the same figure a year earlier. High denisty polyethylene (HDPE) shipments decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 607,8900 tonnes in January-May 2021, up by 33% year on year. Shipments of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas deliveries of PP random copolymers decreased.
Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras is an integrated energy firm. Petrobras' activities include exploration, exploitation and production of oil from reservoir wells, shale and other rocks as well as refining, processing, trade and transport of oil and oil products, natural gas and other fluid hydrocarbons, in addition to other energy-related activities.
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