Petróleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4.SA), Brazil’s state-controlled oil producer, on Tuesday slashed its investment plan for the third time in just over six months as it tries to preserve cash to pay its debt, the industry’s largest.
With oil prices at more than 10-year lows and the company’s $15.1 billion asset sale stalled, Petrobras cut its 2015-2019 capital spending budget by a quarter to $98.4 billion from $130 billion in June, according to a securities filing.
With planned 2016 investments of $20 billion, versus $27 billion in June, Petrobras also trimmed its outlook for oil production in Brazil this year by nearly 2 percent to 2.145 million barrels per day from 2.185 million bpd.
The production cut underscores the difficulties facing Chief Executive Officer Aldemir Bendine during Brazil’s worst recession in at least 25 years and with its currency, the real, in a tailspin.
Brazil Energy Insight 
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