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Petrobras breaks oil export record in April
In the midst of the pandemic, the company exported 1 million barrels of oil per day
Petrobras exported 30.4 million barrels of oil in April, equivalent to 1 million barrels sold to the international market per day. The brand represents a new record for oil exports and contributes to reinforcing the company's cash. The volume exported in April is 145% higher than that traded internationally in April 2019. The previous record was 771 thousand barrels per day, reached in December 2019.
The result occurs in a challenging period of the world economy, with a great reduction in the global demand for oil and oil products, caused by the outbreak of the new coronavirus (COVID-19). Due to the strong contraction of the national market, Petrobras is directing efforts to export its production, after meeting domestic demand.
“We are attentive to international movements and accessing all markets. Our oil, with low sulfur content, keeps its valorization in the international market due to the IMO 2020 specifications ”, informs Anelise Lara, director of Refining and Natural Gas at Petrobras. IMO 2020, the new global specification for marine fuels, reduced the sulfur content limit in fuel oil from 3.5% to 0.5%.
According to the executive, in the first quarter of 2020, China has been the main destination for sales, absorbing 60% of exported oil. In addition to the Asian giant, Petrobras usually sells oil to the American, European, Indian and other Asian destinations. “We are directing our efforts towards the export of oil and oil products through a series of logistical actions, which enable the expansion of our capacity. We hope to continue with a good performance of our exports, due to the resumption of demand from China, together with actions to develop new markets for our products ”, adds Anelise.
The growth in exports follows the trend observed in the first quarter of 2020, when sales abroad increased by 25% in relation to the previous quarter (4Q19).