Petrobras confirmed this Thursday (21) the distribution of R$20 billion in extraordinary dividends that had been blocked since the beginning of the year, and comes amid the announcement of the new investment plan until 2029 under the management of Magda Chambriard. According to the announcement, a record budget of US$111 billion is planned – around R$640 billion, including oil exploration at the mouth of the Amazon River, near Amapá, in dispute with Ibama.
The company had already approved the release of half of the retained dividends, of R$22 billion, in addition to R$44.1 billion for the first quarters of 2024. According to Petrobras, the new distribution is in line with the remuneration policy, which provides extraordinary payments “as long as the company’s financial sustainability is preserved”.
The market was awaiting the announcement, which came after the approval of the investment plan for the exploration of old and new fields in Brazil and abroad, expansion of refinery capacity, clean energy, among others.
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According to the new investment plan, exploration and production lead the budget, with US$77 billion (R$440 billion) allocated to projects such as the revitalization of old fields and the search for new reserves in promising areas. Among them are the basins of the Southeast, Pelotas, the Brazilian Equatorial Margin – where it is located – and in Argentina, Colombia and Africa (São Tomé and Príncipe and South Africa).
“We are ready to drill in Amapá Águas Profundas”, says Petrobras in the investment plan, which People’s Gazette had access, which indicates the block in dispute with Ibama, the FZA-M-59, and that the president (PT).
Petrobras’ goal is to maintain daily production of 3.2 million barrels of oil and gas over the next decade, even with the expected decline in pre-salt fields.
In the refining segment, investments rose to US$20 billion (R$114 billion), focusing on the works at the Abreu e Lima Refinery (PE) and the Boaventura Complex (RJ) – formerly Comperj, in Rio de Janeiro. The state-owned company plans to expand the capacity of the refining park to increase the supply of products such as Diesel S10, lubricants and low-carbon fuels.
Product diversification was also reinforced by the state-owned company, with the resumption of projects in petrochemicals and fertilizers, areas suspended in the previous government, but strategic in the development policy of the president (PT).
Among them is the reactivation of work on the fertilizer factory in Três Lagoas (MS), which has been suspended since 2015, with an investment of R$3.5 billion, and the resumption of operations at Araucária Nitrogenados, in Paraná.
The plan also foresees reinforcement in low carbon projects, with a budget of US$16.3 billion (R$93 billion), of which a third will be directed to the decarbonization of operations. Petrobras is also investing in diversification, including renewable energy, carbon capture and bioproducts such as ethanol and biodiesel.
However, direct investments in renewables remained practically unchanged. For the sector, the state-owned company seeks partnerships with large companies, aiming to “integrate the portfolio of low-carbon solutions and capture market opportunities”.
The debt limit was increased from US$65 billion (R$370 billion) to US$75 billion (R$427 billion), justifying greater flexibility in the face of rising platform leasing costs. Even with the expansion in spending, the company maintained its target of distributing at least US$45 billion (R$256 billion) in ordinary dividends and up to US$10 billion (R$57 billion) in extraordinary dividends.
