Some 10,000 employees of Brazil’s Petrobras, or 22% of its workforce, have accepted voluntary buyouts, CEO Roberto Castello Branco said July 1, as the state-run oil company intensifies its quest to slim down and refocus on core businesses.
In a webinar hosted by Brazilian newspaper Valor Economico, Castello Branco said the deadline for employees to sign up for the program was June 30. Some have already left, while most will leave the company later this year or in 2021.
“We have approximately 10,000 people signed up, which means 22% of Petrobras’ employees are going to leave the company,” he said. “Two thousand left over the course of the year. The rest will leave by December, and a smaller part will leave in 2021.”
Aided by a massive divestment program which will see employees in many units working for new owners, Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is formally known, should have about 30,000 employees long-term, versus over 45,000 today, he said.
Divestments Slowed
On a separate webinar, CFO Andrea Almeida said Petrobras plans to give more time for potential investors to make offers for the company’s assets, including for its refineries and stakes at its petrochemical and fuel distribution affiliates.
The divestment of Petrobras’ stake in petrochemical company Braskem SA in 2020 would be desirable but “might not be possible” as the new coronavirus has changed market conditions, she said. The same applies to its stake in fuel distribution firm Petrobras Distribuidora SA, Almeida said, adding that the company plans to have closed part of its refinery sales in 2021.
Petrobras received last week binding offers for its Bahia refinery, the first refining unit the state-controlled producer plans to sell. REPAR in southern Parana state will be the next to go to the market in the coming weeks, Castello Branco said.
The fuel market is expected to improve in the second half of the year and demand may eventually recover to pre-pandemic levels, but prices are expected to remain lower, Almeida said, adding that Petrobras hit records for crude and fuel exports in May.
While demand for gasoline has recovered in past weeks and other fuels are expected to do the same, that does not apply to aviation fuel.
“Aviation kerosene hasn’t recovered. That's a doubt we have, if it will recover like before.”
Recommended Reading
Biden Administration Criticized for Limits to Arctic Oil, Gas Drilling
2024-04-19 - The Bureau of Land Management is limiting new oil and gas leasing in the Arctic and also shut down a road proposal for industrial mining purposes.
Exclusive: The Politics, Realities and Benefits of Natural Gas
2024-04-19 - Replacing just 5% of coal-fired power plants with U.S. LNG — even at average methane and greenhouse-gas emissions intensity — could reduce energy sector emissions by 30% globally, says Chris Treanor, PAGE Coalition executive director.
Renewed US Sanctions to Complicate Venezuelan Oil Sales, Not Stop Them
2024-04-19 - Venezuela’s oil exports to world markets will not stop, despite reimposed sanctions by Washington, and will likely continue to flow with the help of Iran—as well as China and Russia.
US Orders Most Companies to Wind Down Operations in Venezuela by May
2024-04-17 - The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a new license related to Venezuela that gives companies until the end of May to wind down operations following a lack of progress on national elections.