Brasília (AFP) – Brazil’s state-owned oil company Petrobras posted a hefty net profit of $4.7 billion in the second quarter, recovering sharply from net losses in the same period last year, the company said Thursday. The energy giant attributed the strong performance, which compared with a loss of $469 million in April-June 2024, partly to increased oil production.
Company president Magda Chambriard hailed the “excellent” results, with daily production in the period exceeding two million barrels of crude, an increase from the same period last year. It managed to increase gas and oil volumes with new production systems and greater “efficiency,” which was “positively reflected in the financial results,” said chief financial officer Fernando Melgarejo.
Petrobras reported a net profit of $6 billion in the first quarter, a 48.5 percent increase year on year. The firm is awaiting a license from environmental authorities to begin exploratory drilling in an area of approximately 350,000 square kilometers (135,135 square miles) in the Equatorial Margin, near the mouth of the Amazon River in northern Brazil.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva supports the oil megaproject, arguing that the energy transition requires significant revenues to finance it. But he faces criticism from environmental organizations, months before Brazil hosts the COP30 climate summit in November in the Amazonian city of Belem.
Petrobras also said Thursday it had approved $1.6 billion in dividend payments to shareholders as an advance on remuneration for the 2025 fiscal year.
© 2024 AFP
