Brazil Energy reports that Brazil’s National Development Bank, known as BNDES, is expanding its oil and gas portfolio with increasing its investments by approximately R$ 4 billion this year over last.
“BNDES’ disbursements for the oil and gas sector this year should reach R$ 8 billion (US$ 3.9 B), of which R$ 3.8 billion (US$ 1.9 B) went to the supply chain, said the president of the bank, Luciano Coutinho. If the petrochemical sector was included, the estimated disbursement rises to R$ 10 billion (US$ 4.9 B). The projection for this year is colored by the R$ 9.4 billion (US$ 4.6 B) credit line that the institution has provided to Petrobras – from which the company has already contracted approximately R$ 3 billion (US$ 1.47 B), according to Coutinho.
BNDES disbursements will be driven by Petrobras orders
By way of comparison, last year, the amount released to the oil and gas industry was R$ 3.3 billion (US$ 1.6 B), of which R$ 2.2 billion (US$ 1.08 B) went to the supply chain.
For Coutinho, the great expectation is that loans will be disbursed on a production line driven by increased orders from Petrobras. He commented that the trend is for the O&G sector to share the role as a significant actor on the national economy with the auto industry.”
Many investor groups have criticized Petrobras’ falling profitability, but the company, backed in large measure by the BNDES, is likely to continue its steady efforts to invest in upstream production in the coming years with large hydrocarbon reserves coming into commercial production in the coming years. BNDES’ increased investments in the sector and in Petrobras signal the Brazilian government’s continued commitment to production for the long haul and demonstrate how important energy production is to national development. Read more at Brazil Energy