Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the oil price war, the Brazilian national oil and gas company Petrobras has decided to cut planned investments for 2020 from US$12bn to US$8.5bn (-29%), delaying exploratory activities, interconnection of wells and construction of production and refining facilities. In addition, the company will reduce its operating expenses by US$2bn by mothballing operational platforms in shallow water fields with higher lifting cost per barrel, optimising production logistics and postponing new material contracts for 90 days. Petrobras will cut its oil production by 100 kb/d by the end of March 2020; it will evaluate the market conditions and will do new adjustments in oil production not to contribute to the global glut.
In February 2020, Petrobras released its 2019 results, posting a 9.5% decrease in net revenues to US$76.6bn, mostly due to the fall of average oil prices from US$71/bbl in 2018 to US$64/bbl in 2019. However, EBITDA increased by 3.8% to US$32.7bn and net income by 41.5% to US$10.2bn, mainly as a result of capital gains on divestments in its wholly owned gas pipeline unit TAG (Transportadora Associada de Gás) and E&P assets. Gross debt fell by nearly 25% to US$63bn at the end of 2019 thanks to the inflow of divestment resources.