By Lise Alves, Senior Contributing Reporter
SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – The Brazilian oil giant, Petrobras, registered the best June on record for the production of oil and natural gas, totaling 2.9 million barrels per day, according to the state-controlled company. According to Petrobras, June’s results are over two percent greater than that registered during the month of May.
The company attributes the growth in production to the start of operations of new fields in the Lula camp, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. In relation to the pre-salt exploration areas, Petrobras announced that extraction rose by eight percent in June in comparison to May, with a volume of 1.24 million barrels per day.
At the end of June, Petrobras’ Board of Directors decided to create a department to handle the areas of Strategy, Organization and Management System, aimed at strengthening the activities related to the company’s strategic and business areas, and ensuring higher control over its expenditures and investment projects.
The new department is part of CEO Pedro Parente’s plan to restore Petrobras’ credibility and recover its economic, financial and social responsibilities.
Parente, who was appointed to the post by interim President Michel Temer in May, has said on several occasions he will put the state-owned company’s interest above political interests. The new CEO has also reiterated that he will go ahead with plans to sell assets that are of no economic interest to the company.
In 2015, despite surpassing its annual petroleum production target for the first time in thirteen years, Petrobras registered the largest net loss in its history, of R$34.8 billion.
The losses were the result of a combination of a decline in oil prices around the world and the steep depreciation of the Brazilian real in relation to the U.S. dollar.