Petrobras opens 2021 with record oil exports

Brazil's state-controlled Petrobras says crude exports through its Angra dos Reis terminal reached a record 19.3mn bl in January, the extension of an upward trend in dispatches of mainly pre-salt crude.

After reaching quarterly records earlier in 2020, Petrobras' crude outflows slipped on planned maintenance at pre-salt fields in the Santos basin in the fourth quarter. Even with the turnarounds, Petrobras' crude exports for the year climbed by 33pc over 2019 to 713,000 b/d.

A pandemic-induced slump in domestic fuel demand and increased pre-salt production helped lift the company to a crude export record last year. Outflows are expected to grow to an annual average of 891,000 b/d through 2025, according to the firm's $55mn spending plan.

The company's domestic liquids production averaged around 2.27mn b/d in 2020, a 4.3pc increase over 2019, according to its quarterly production report. Pre-salt output climbed by 21.1pc over 2019 to 1.546mn b/d while post-salt production slumped by 17.3pc in the same period to around 582,000 b/d.

The company's shallow-water output was halved between 2019 and 2020, when production following the closure of some 60 platforms and a handful of divestments averaged 32,000 b/d.

Petrobras' domestic crude production is expected to remain flat this year, the result of planned divestments, but the firm says a 180,000 b/d production platform will come on stream at the Sepia pre-salt field at mid-year. Another 180,000 b/d platform is slated to be deployed in the Mero pre-salt field later in the year.

Petrobras sold around 1.664mn b/d of fuel in 2020, a 5.1pc year-on-year decline, but it managed to increase average refinery throughput to 79pc from 77pc in the same period. The increase in utilization was mainly the result of increased global demand for low-sulfur marine fuel, exports of which climbed almost 46pc over 2019 to 194,000 b/d.

By Nathan Walters