Brazil's state-run oil firm Petrobras cut imports of oil derivatives to some 67,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the second quarter as it pushed its refineries to their limit amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, its operational results showed on Tuesday.
Imports of diesel fell by 85 per cent from a year earlier, and of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by 42 per cent, marking the period as the one with the lowest quarterly volume of derivatives imports by the company, said Petrobras.
On average, Petrobras refineries operated beyond their nominal capacity, at a record 102.5 per cent in April and May, lowering the need to import at a time when prices were high due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
"In the current geopolitical context, high utilisation of refining capacity has been crucial to increasing the supply of derivatives in the domestic market," said the firm.
Diesel and LNG prices have become a major concern for the state-run firm, with Brazil's government approving fuel subsidies and pushing for prices to remain low in a year when President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is set to seek re-election.
While imports were down, exports grew by 41 per cent on a year-on-year comparison, reaching 1.2 million bpd of oil and derivatives.
About 35 per cent of all oil exports went to China, a smaller share than the 51 per cent from a year ago, as the Asian country also sought to minimise imports due to higher prices, said Petrobras.
But the lower sales to the Chinese were offset by higher exports to India, Europe and other Asian countries, said the firm.
Petrobras' local oil and LNG production grew by about 15 per cent to 2.69 million bpd, while total output, which also includes natural gas and operations abroad, increased 14 per cent to 3.34 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, according to the firm's quarterly sales and output report.
Petrobras said the output expansion was boosted by the ramp-up of floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) units Maria Quiteria, Alexandre de Gusmao and P-78, as well as the start-up of the P-79 unit.
Local sales of oil, gas and derivatives rose almost 12 per cent to 3.33 million bpd, said the firm.
Petrobras is set to release its financial earnings on August 6.
(Reporting by Fabio Teixeira and Marta Nogueira in Rio de Janeiro, and Andre Romani in Sao Paulo; Editing by Chris Reese, Natalia Siniawski and Cynthia Osterman)
