Brazilian oil and gas group has announced an annual record in its average oil production in Brazil in 2016, reaching 2,144 kb/d. This production was 0.75% higher than in 2015 and was in line with the 2016 target of 2,145 kb/d. Pre-salt oil production rose by 33% in 2016, to 1.02 mb/d, thanks to the growth of production in the Lula field and in the Sapinhoa field. Gas production also increased to 77 mcm/d in 2016, contributing to a 1% increase in hydrocarbon production (2.63 boe/d). Outside Brazil, Petrobras' oil production fell by 19% to 80,000 bbl/d (-11% for gas to 13.7 mcm/d), due to divestments in Argentina.
Petrobras now plans to invest US$19bn in exploration, production and refining projects in 2017, a 30% increase over the US$147.6bn invested in 2016, after significant efforts were made to cut debt and preserve cash. The company could maintain investments around those levels if its succeeds in sticking to strict fuel pricing and in preserving cash. In September 2016, Petrobras announced an up to US$74.1bn capital spending plan for the 2017-2021 period, a 25% cut over the prior 2015-2019 plan.