Petrobras, the oil company at the centre of Brazil’s largest ever corruption scandal, has slashed its five-year investment plan by $32bn as it struggles to preserve cash.
The oil producer said early on Tuesday that it planned to invest $98.4bn between 2015 and 2019, down 24 per cent from its original forecast of $130.3bn, reports Samantha Pearson in São Paulo.
Petrobras’s finances have come under strain since a multi-billion dollar kickback and bribery scandal emerged at the company in 2014. The collapse in global crude prices – Brent fell below $32 a barrel for the first time in 12 years yesterday – have reaped further pressure on the company.
With nearly $130bn in debt – the largest of any oil company, Petrobras has rushed to sell assets and cut spending.