Petrobras targets low-hanging fruit
Brazilian company revises spending and downgrades production from high-cost assets to lessen financial burden
Latin America’s leading producers, like much of the global oil sector, are bracing themselves for an arduous operating year. Colombian state-owned Ecopetrol announced cutbacks of $1.2bn, while Mexican NOC Pemex was struggling to post a profit even before economic conditions nosedived. For beleaguered Venezuelan state producer Pdvsa, emergency measures only compound its financial woes. Even in Brazil, one of Latin America’s most attractive oil provinces, state-run Petrobras has scrambled to revise down its financial exposure. The NOC pledged to reduce investments by $3.5bn this year and has slashed oil production by 200,000bl/d to help balance the books. “The impact of the Covid-19 crisis on
Also in this section
18 February 2026
With Texas LNG approaching financial close, Alaska LNG advancing towards a phased buildout and Magnolia LNG positioned for future optionality, Glenfarne CEO Brendan Duval says the coming year will demonstrate how the company’s more focused, owner-operator approach is reshaping LNG infrastructure development in the North America
18 February 2026
The global gas industry is no longer on the backfoot, hesitantly justifying the value of its product, but has greater confidence in gas remaining a core part of the global energy mix for decades
18 February 2026
With marketable supply unlikely to grow significantly and limited scope for pipeline imports, Brazil is expected to continue relying on LNG to cover supply shortfalls, Ieda Gomes, senior adviser of Brazilian thinktank FGV Energia,
tells Petroleum Economist
17 February 2026
The 25th WPC Energy Congress, taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 26–30 April 2026, will bring together leaders from the political, industrial, financial and technology sectors under the unifying theme “Pathways to an Energy Future for All”






