NYSE-listed ADRs of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A., or Petrobras (PBR) gained around 3.5% following the announcement that it has achieved historical production levels. The Brazilian state-run energy giant said that on Dec 21 its oil and natural gas liquid (NGL) production reached 2.29 million barrels per day, breaking the previous record of 2.26 million.
The company further added that it has attained a daily operated production record of 2.47 barrels per day. Contribution from nine production systems – five of which came online last year and the remaining four this year – led to this production growth. These include, platforms P-63 and P-53 working in Campos Basin, the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (“FPSO”) vessels Cidade de São Paulo and Cidade de Paraty in the pre-salt Santos Basin, and FPSO Cidade de Itajaí in the post-salt Santos Basin which was installed last year.
Platforms P-58 and P-62 installed in 2014 and operating in Campos Basin, and FPSOs Cidade de Mangaratiba and Cidade de Ilhabela operating in the pre-salt Santos Basin were the other contributors to production.
Moreover, the five wells that were installed last year had new wells connected to them this year.
Petrobras also stated that its Operational Efficiency Increase Program has improved production from the Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo areas of the Campos Basin. Improved yield from fields at North and Northeast of Brazil, as a result of this program, has almost offset the impact of natural field declines from mature fields in the region.
Petrobras added that it has achieved a record pre-salt production of 700,000 barrels per day from the fields operated by the company. Petrobras holds about 74% stake in it.
The record level with only 34 production wells indicates the high productivity of the region. Of these, 16 wells, located in the Santos Basin, contributed over 60% to the total pre-salt production while 18 wells located in the Campos Basin accounted for the rest.
Currently, Petrobras carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Better-ranked stocks include InterOil Corporation (IOC), Seadrill Partners LLC (SDLP) and Spectra Energy Partners, LP (SEP) with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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