Brazil’s energy major Petrobras has revised its spending plans for the next five years, prompted by the steady and persistent decline in oil prices. The company now plans to spend 2% less than previously expected over the period between 2026 and 2030.
Petrobras will also pay less dividend, Reuters reported, citing the company’s update. Ordinary dividends for the five-year period to 2030 are now seen at between $45 billion and $50 billion, down from a maximum of $55 billion earlier. The update did not include an estimate for extraordinary dividends, Reuters noted, while earlier plans mentioned up to $10 billion in those.
In capital spending, the Brazilian state major will allocate $109 billion over the five years to 2030, citing an expected average Brent crude price of $63 per barrel for 2026. That would be down from $77 per barrel, which the Brazilian company expected in its previous five-year plan.
While the overall sum is lower than earlier plans, the amount Petrobras has allocated for exploration and production is $1 billion higher than the previous version of its spending plan, in line with calls from President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to step up oil and gas production to help prop up the Brazilian economy. Per the new plan, Petrobras has budgeted $78 billion for upstream activities.
Earlier this year, Petrobras said it planned to spend $111 billion in the five years between 2025 and 2029, with $77 billion of this total earmarked for oil and gas exploration and production activities, the company said at the end of last year.
That spending figure was $10 billion higher than an earlier version of the investment plan, where exploration and production spending was set at $73 billion. That earlier plan, in turn, was an upward revision on an even earlier version of the 2025-2029 budget that stood at $102 billion.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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