Petrobras Discusses Joint Projects With Other National Oil Companies
Brazilian state oil and gas company Petrobras is discussing potential cooperation in energy projects with other national oil companies (NOCs) from the Middle East, China, and India, Petrobras CEO Jean Paul Prates told Reuters on Wednesday.
The NOCs with which the Brazilian state firm is currently in talks include Kuwait Petroleum and QatarEnergy, the executive told Reuters on the sidelines of an energy forum in India.
Petrobras is keen to collaborate with Kuwait Petroleum on upgrading Brazilian refineries and cooperating in petrochemicals, as well as discuss LNG projects with QatarEnergy in Brazil or West Africa, Prates said.
“The Atlantic is our preferred operational environment. That means West Africa, Brazil, Guyana and Equatorial Margin,” the manager told Reuters.
The Brazilian firm is also exploring opportunities in Venezuela, he added.
Earlier this month, Prates told the Financial Times that Petrobras plans more than $100 billion in investments this decade to boost offshore oil production as it looks to be one of the last oil producers standing when oil demand starts to drop.
“We need to keep the core [business] very safe . . . We are not doing [a] crazy transition,” the company’s top executive told FT, commenting on the recently announced strategic plan through 2028.
As much as $73 billion out of the $102 billion total capex planned from 2024 to 2028 is set to go to exploration and production, according to Petrobras’s presentation to investors last week.
After spending a decade selling off many assets outside Brazil, Petrobras is now shifting its strategy to portfolio diversification, keeping the focus on the most profitable assets, the company said. Reserves replacement, new frontiers, and increased gas supply are all pillars of the new exploration and production strategy.
Petrobras is now re-evaluating its portfolio in search of synergies and economic diversification and is looking at new frontiers in exploration, especially in the Equatorial Margin offshore Brazil, Prates said in the investor presentation.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com