Petrobras posts historic loss, writedowns in 2015

OREANDA-NEWS. March 23, 2016. Substantial writedowns pushed Brazil's state-controlled Petrobras to a R35bn (\\$9.7bn) loss in 2015, down from a R21bn loss in 2014 and the company's worst performance to date.

The loss was largely the result of R38bn in writedowns on upstream assets, led by an impairment on the underperforming deepwater Papa Terra field in the Campos basin.

Petrobras also recorded a R6bn impairment on downstream assets, led by the 165,000 b/d Comperj greenfield refinery project, and around R2.5bn on gas and energy assets.

The impairments contributed to an R13bn loss in the upstream segment in 2015, down from a R32bn profit in 2014.

The company?s domestic liquids production grew around 4.5pc between 2014 and 2015, from 2.034mn b/d in 2014 to 2.128mn b/d in 2015. Natural gas production in Brazil grew from 426,000 b/d of oil equivalent in 2014 to 469,000 boe/d in 2015.

Increased production and lower domestic demand helped drive up Petrobras? oil exports up from 232,000 b/d in 2014 to 360,000 b/d in 2015, a 55pc increase fueled by Asian demand for light crude produced in the Santos basin.

The sizable writedowns were partially offset by improved performance in the company's downstream segment, which recorded a profit of around R18bn in 2015, up from a R40bn loss in 2014. The turnaround reflects lower international prices for imported oil products and higher domestic prices.

Products imports fell from 413,000 b/d in 2014 to 256,000 b/d in 2015, the result of reduced domestic demand.

Total throughput at Petrobras' 14 domestic refineries dropped from 2.170mn b/d in 2014 to 2.026 in 2015. The utilization factor at the company's Brazilian refineries dropped 8pc from 93pc in 2014 to 85pc in 2015.

Petrobras dollar-denominated debt totaled \\$126bn at the end of 2015, down 4pc from \\$132bn at the end of 2014.