Boston, MA 02/03/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (ADR) (NYSE:PBR) declined for the third time in a row in December last year with low oil and natural gas production even this year after similar results in 2013. As reported on the company’s website, the fields of Brazil and abroad yielded 2.55 million barrels of oil and natural gas a day in December. This compared to the results in December of the previous year, Petrobras produced 4.59% less this time.
While the average daily production in 2012 was 2.60 million barrels of oil and equivalent natural gas per day, this year it produced only 2.54 million. This marks a decline of 2.23% in the one year period. Nevertheless, as compared to production in November, there was a 5.4% rise in output in December.
Why the low production
Since 2011, production of oil and gas at Brazil’s state run Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (ADR) (NYSE:PBR) is relatively dormant on account of the closed old plants which are shuttered on maintenance grounds. Another factor contributing in the low output is the decline in yields from mature fields at a time when new ones are struggling with production delay issues and increasing costs. In Dec 2011, production had reached a record high of 2.72 million barrels of fuel every day. Since then there has been a 45 month long period where production has been seen going down slope to as low as 2.47 billion boepd as recorded in Sept 2012.
Rise in 2014
A break from the recent production slips resulted from completion of maintenance procedures, developments of new wells as well as coming up with more production platforms. All of this have accounted to an upsurge in outputs again. According to a report by a stock analyst with Morningstar in Chicago, Allan Good, Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (ADR) (NYSE:PBR) management seeks production to increase by around 4% to 6% in 2014. Despite the Jan 10 report, Good forecasts production to rise 3% to 5% this year.
