Petrobras issues stark warning on oil

Brazilian heavyweight announces huge losses on assets it believes are no longer commercially viable

Forecasters have for years predicted a Brazilian oil boom. State firm Petrobras projected its crude production would grow rapidly to 3.5mn bl/d by 2024. With an expected average Brent price of $65/bl, the potential revenue was enormous. But the collapse of crude during the first quarter of this year, combined with the crippling impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, has meant Petrobras’ assumptions now look way off the mark. The firm has downgraded its short and long-term price guidance and warned it will take years to recover to anywhere comparable to its original Brent prediction.  “We are carrying out a full review of the portfolio and believe that the recovery will be slow and plateau to $50/b