Prepared remarks
The links for both languages are available on our investor relations website. We would like to inform you that all participants are connected to the webcast in listen-only mode. After our introductions, we will have a question-and-answer session and you'll be able to send your questions via email to petroinvest@petrobras.com.br. Joining us today are Magda Chambriard, Petrobras' President, who will start our session but will not remain for the Q&A due to a prior commitment. Clarice Coppetti, Executive Director of Corporate Affairs; Claudio Schlosser, Executive Director of Logistics, Commercialization and Markets; Fernando Melgarejo, Executive Director of Finance and Investor Relations. And Calovalli, Director of Governance and Compliance. Mauricio Tolmasquim, Executive Director of Energy Transition and Sustainability; Renata Baruzzi, Executive Director of Engineering, Technology and Innovation; Sylvia dos Anjos, Executive Director of Exploration and Production; and William Franca, Executive Director of Industrial Processes and Other Products. So to begin, I will hand it over to our President, Magda Chambriard for her initial remarks. Please go ahead, ma'am.
Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. It's a great pleasure to join you today to talk a little bit about our performance in the first quarter of 2025. I believe that they were excellent results, but I also want to draw your attention to the challenging scenario that we have currently with the price of oil. This requires from us redoubled efforts, going from $84 per barrel in the first quarter of 2024 to face this first quarter of 2025 with an average of $75 per barrel. To post the results that we are posting was not an easy task. This is an arduous task that was carried forward with a lot of dedication and wisdom by the Petrobras board and all of its technical staff. What we will have in the future will be even more challenging. This is the second quarter of 2025 and oil is at $65 per barrel, a difference of about $20 versus the first quarter of 2024. We are certain and we are committed to resolving this issue, delivering good results and dedicating a lot of our effort in capital discipline for 2025.
This challenging scenario of $65 per barrel requires simplified projects, assurance that we will have good trading margins for our products, significant cost reduction, and a lot of cooperation between the different areas in the company so that we can have the best results possible for our business. This is what we are already addressing and this is what all main oil companies are doing. We have to make this effort to have better results in such a challenging scenario. Again, it's $65 per barrel. We're going to talk about a few words that you will hear constantly such as austerity, simplification, optimization, reducing investment costs, reducing operational costs, and overhead. Our products are priced by the international market and they vary according to their prices and the exchange rate. This is out of our control. What we know and are certain of is that we have the obligation to react to these fluctuations.
Petrobras is absolutely aware of its obligations to react to them. When prices go up, we have more comfort to expand our initiatives. But when prices go down, it's time to tighten our belts. With that being said, this is my message to you. Please remain confident we are addressing this cost reduction in face of a challenging scenario so that we can have the best results possible for our investors, whether they are in the government or private. I also have to highlight the excellent results that we have had in the first quarter of 2025. First of all, I'd like to say that there's no future for an oil company without exploration. This is what we have been doing. We are constantly expanding our reserves and building up our efforts to expand the Brazilian equatorial margins. We believe in this potential and we will carry on pursuing the opportunity to show Brazilian society and our investors that we will have relevant gains from exploring oil and gas in the Brazilian equatorial margin.
In that aspect, we have been very successful. We've added more reserves constantly, especially with the pre-salt layer. Last week, we disclosed a new discovery in the pre-salt layer and the Aram block. And if everything works out, we believe that we will have advanced production for the Aram block. More pre-salt with good quality oil without contaminants, but still with a challenging rock for our project. This is within our potential. This is what we know how to do. Before the second discovery in Aram, we made a new discovery in the Campos Basin in the North Brava area. We also made discoveries in Colombia and had an excellent test in Colombia's offshore area. This block, if all works out, will be responsible for supplying all of the gas consumption in Colombia. Let's hope that this will happen. But that's not all, ladies and gentlemen. We still have many opportunities ahead of us, whether it is in the Brazilian eastern margin or in the equatorial margin.
Remember the Pelotas Basin, where we're also exploring and will soon consider drilling wells there. As we will hear later on, we have about 50 exploratory wells to drill in the next years. We're very proud of it because an oil company will not have a future without exploration. We want a strong, long-lasting company that contributes to our investors, whether they are from the government or private investors, and also contributes to Brazilian society in general. We're seeking new reserves as we develop the fields that have already been discovered. In the first quarter of 2025, our production went up 5.4% versus the previous quarter. This increase was a decisive contribution to our financial results. Oil is our main product, and with it, we are generating $8.5 billion in cash with our operations, reaching a net income of $6 billion. After my message, our Director Melgarejo will go into details about our financial performance, drawing attention to the impact of variations in brand oil prices and our exchange rate.
You will be reminded that in the previous quarter, the foreign exchange for the Brazilian oil had a negative impact on our company's results. This quarter, the opposite happened. We recovered part of those losses. The appreciation of the Brazilian real had an impact on our results again. Without these foreign exchange effects, our results would have been $4 billion, which is not bad, but even better since it was $6 billion. Our results are often impacted by the price of oil and the foreign exchange rate, as happens with all oil companies, and both of these variables are out of our control. That is why we are saying that right now is a moment for austerity. We will have to control our costs in general, do what we do well, which is exploring, producing oil and its byproducts, and trading these byproducts and our oil with the best profit margins possible. But we need to do it, and this moment is propelling us in that direction.
We should not forget, however, that we will keep on focusing on projects that are financially feasible and generating returns for our investors, whether they are from the government or private market. Thank you for your presence, and now I will give the floor to my colleagues for the presentations.
Thank you, Magda. Now we'll start the presentation about the performance of the first quarter of 2025. I'll give the floor to Fernando Melgarejo, our Financial Director. Fernando, you have the floor.
Good morning. President Magda, thank you for the message. I want to thank you all for being here for yet another webcast. We'll start by looking at the highlights of the first quarter of 2025. After the presentation, both I and the other directors will be here for the Q&A session. This slide shows the financial highlights of the company, with adjusted EBITDA excluding one-off events of $10 billion, 8% above the last quarter, and a net income of $4 billion. Our cash generation is still strong, with an operational cash flow of $8.5 million and a net cash flow of $4.5 billion. I also want to highlight our contributions. We approved BRL11.7 billion in dividends related to the first quarter of this year, and we paid more than BRL65 billion in taxes. This growth is the result of ARJ's work in a well-implemented strategy, demonstrating Petrobras' financial solidity. Our commitment is clear to keep on generating return for our shareholders, including Brazilian society, in a responsible and consistent manner.
Slide 6 shows the details of the EBITDA and operational cash flow on the right-hand side. Here I want to highlight the effects of our operational performance on the result, with greater production and volumes traded. EBITDA was $10.7 billion in the quarter, with a growth of 8% compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. This was mainly driven by the increased oil sales in both the internal and external markets, in addition to the increased crack spread of diesel. In terms of OCF on the right-hand side, we had a growth of 4% versus the previous quarter, totaling $8.5 billion. The net profit was $6 billion, not considering the one-off events. The result was $4 billion, an increase of 31% vis-à-vis the previous quarter. In this, we saw the external scenario, and part of the result reflects an increase of 28% of the diesel crack spread, the appreciation of 1% in the brand, quarter by quarter, and a 7% appreciation of the real versus the end-of-the-year dollar.
Moving on to slide number eight, investments totaled $4.1 billion in the first quarter of 2025, which represents a reduction of 29% vis-à-vis the last quarter of 2024. This volume of investments corroborates the message that I brought to you on our last webcast when we said that we wouldn't see the level of CapEx of the first quarter of 2024 in the first quarter of 2025. You can remember that in the last quarter of last year, the CapEx was higher due to the reduction in the mismatch between the physical and financial advancements of our own units towards the Buzios fields. The CapEx of the first quarter of 2025 was lower than that of the fourth quarter of 2024 but higher compared to the CapEx of the first quarter of last year, with an increase of 34%. This is especially due to the big advancements and investments in the pre-salt in the Santos Basin, as well as the new production systems in the Buzios and Oiapoque fields.
Slide 9 shows the investments that were performed, demonstrating more investment but also more delivery. These are investments connected to greater physical deliveries that support a production curve and ensure the entry into production of new systems. The acceleration of CapEx towards the end of 2024 allowed us to shorten the physical financial gap by 14 percentage points, reflecting our commitment with the packages and with the reduction of delay risks. Some of these results show the evolution of deliveries over the course of the last 12 months. I must highlight that the five rigs that were undergoing construction in the first quarter of 2024 went from 51% to 76% in terms of physical advancement. In addition, we also started the construction of two more rigs, reaching seven units in construction this year. Our higher CapEx vis-à-vis that of last year reflects the higher number of owned platforms we're building, which bring about the benefit of not having affected platforms impacting our debt.
We also doubled the number of interconnections and wells in one year, connecting 16 wells in the first quarter of 2025 versus eight in the same period last year. This is our best result for the last eight years. We had 27 drill interventions for new wells, with a growth of 13% vis-a-vis the first quarter of 2024. We are working, drilling more and interconnecting wells, and advancing towards the construction of the new units that will support our production curve. These investment projects generate value for our shareholders and will translate into profitable growth for the next few years. Slide 10 shows the reconciliation between CapEx competence and the cash CapEx for the first quarter of 2025. The cash investment of the quarter was impacted by a higher CapEx in the fourth quarter of 2024. It's important to clarify that there is a normal lag between measurements and payments. This means that all quarters we observe a certain level of time lag, which is normal.
However, there was a large concentration of measurements at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, particularly in December, due to our efforts to recover the physical and financial gap of the new systems, leading to a significant portion of the payments occurring only in January, impacting the cash investment of the first quarter of 2025. In the first quarter of 2025, around $1 billion that came out of our cash for investments were related to the measurements of the fourth quarter of 2024, while $400 million were measured in the first quarter of 2025 and will only come out of cash in the second quarter of 2025, returning to normal. I'd like to draw your attention to the part relating to IFRS 16. This amount is considered in the CapEx competence but is classified as a financing outflow in cash view since it refers to leases. We now turn to Slide 11, which shows the company's debt levels.
In the first quarter of 2025, gross debt increased, mainly due to the entry of the FPSO Almirante Tamandare. This is a chartered unit impacting our leasing costs. It's important to emphasize that it has a capacity of 250 barrels a day and it can ramp up further this year. Debt remains within the limit defined in the 2025-2029 business plan, with a ceiling of $75 billion. In this way, we maintain an efficient and flexible capital structure. Now let's go to Slide 12, as you can see, we remain committed to distributing earnings generated and the financial sustainability of the company. With gross debt under control within the level established in the business plan and positive results, our board of directors approved the distribution of remuneration to shareholders for the first quarter of 2025 of BRL11.7 billion, equivalent to zero cents per share, which will be paid in two equal installments in August and September.
Slide 13 shows the important contribution our activities make in terms of taxes. All in all, BRL65.7 billion were paid in taxes to the union, states, and municipalities, including government participation. In addition, we earmarked around BRL66 million in voluntary social and environmental investments and sponsorships. There are more than 200 initiatives, including social and environmental projects and cultural, sports, and science technology sponsorships. We always make a point of bringing these values to show you how Petrobras' performance materializes into positive impacts for Brazilian society. Continuing, we've just seen how we performed in the first quarter of 2025, but our attention, and certainly yours too, is on the current moment and how the company is prepared for this lower-better scenario. The first thing I'd like to remind you is that Petrobras has a strategic plan and project renewal governance that prepares the company to generate value under adverse price scenarios.
Here we see a screenshot of our business plan released last year, which talks about our robustness even in low oil price scenarios. Our E&P projects need to demonstrate a positive NPV in scenarios of up to $45 per barrel. In addition, the prospective breakeven brand for our E&P portfolio averages $28 per barrel. Our plan also includes a portfolio under evaluation comprised of projects subject to the condition that they do not affect the company's capital structure and must prove their returns in robust scenarios like all other projects. As for our shareholder remuneration policy, the formula ensures dividends compatible with different oil prices without compromising the company's financial sustainability. We have confidence in our strategy and governance. I emphasize that our long-term strategy has been maintained but we are fully aware of and attentive to the global scenario of lower prices in the industry.
We're incorporating cost-cutting actions and adapting the business plan to the new reality. Here on the last slide are some examples of what we're doing. We have three work fronts, mainly. First, we are minimizing the effects of inflation by optimizing spending. This involves reducing transversal corporate spending, seeking a return to historical levels. Second, we aim to mitigate the impact of lower prices on our free cash flow. Examples include simplifying engineering projects. We're reviewing the scope of recently tendered projects that were not very attractive. Reduced hibernational costs for systems awaiting decommissioning and reassessment of the cost structure of mature systems. Finally, we will prioritize projects that generate cash flow in shorter time frames. Actions on this front include greater rigidity in the inclusion of new projects in the portfolio under implementation and reprioritization of projects under implementation with higher returns in the short and medium term. We will continue to study appropriate measures to strengthen our resilience. Thank you for your attention.
Questions and answers
Thank you, Fernando. We now continue with the question-and-answer session. The first question was asked by Bruno Amorim from Goldman Sachs. Bruno, over to you.
Hi, thank you. Thank you for taking my question. My first question is about capital allocation. If you can tell us a bit more about the potential processes and how that you are buying back that refinery in Bahia, also about ethanol, if you have progressed there. Most of the company's projects are resilient to low oil prices. Just like to confirm that thus far you don't believe there are any changes necessary to the investment plan. As a follow-up, let's imagine a scenario in which oil prices go down even more. Are there specific areas in which you can make adjustments, whether it is by making onshore investments or investments in other areas where returns are lower than in deep waters? That's a broader question about your capital allocation. Thank you.
Hi, Bruno. So about RLAM, we didn't have any changes. We still follow the same logic. We can look at any investments and any M&As, but we need compatible returns on our investments. There have not been any advances regarding capital. It's important to mention that Petrobras will celebrate its 72nd anniversary this year. We're working in an intrinsically volatile market. Our 70-year experience has created a structure in which everything is designed for volatile moments. It was not different when we built this strategic plan for 2025 to 2029. Important things about resilience, our break-even is $28 per barrel. So we always work by testing and modeling for $45 per barrel. If it doesn't pass, then the projects are not continued. We haven't seen any changes to our planned CapEx. So we will maintain what we want to do without any further changes.
Thank you, Fernando. Now we will receive questions from Caio Ribeiro from Bank of America. Caio?
Good afternoon. Thank you. First of all, recently Shell mentioned that it's going to some blocks in the Caribbean where they have some participation with Ecopetrol. Since Petrobras has some presence in Caribbean offshore assets, would you be interested in assessing or even taking over this participation from Shell if Ecopetrol is seeking a new partner? Secondly, despite the adjustments to diesel prices made recently, we still see a premium on PPE for diesel of about 6%, especially gasoline, which is close to 10% according to our calculations. Can you give us some color about this decision, this recent decision on changing diesel prices, but not gasoline? And do you see a reason for new adjustments? Thank you.
Hi, good afternoon, Caio. Yes, Shell is divesting this asset. Similar to this situation, we are evaluating others in our portfolio. It is an ongoing process where we look for the best return opportunities. We must acknowledge that exploration cannot go on forever. We are reviewing our entire portfolio, and we are examining everything. In Colombia, we are drilling two wells, one of which should hopefully bring us good luck, as its name suggests. We are indeed exploring these possibilities within our global portfolio.
Hi, Caio. Good afternoon. Thank you for that question. Before I talk about your specific points, it's important to highlight that we're trying to see movements from the international market. The company's strategy takes more than international prices into account. As of May 19, we will celebrate our second year after implementing the new commercial strategy, which considers all of these aspects. As for diesel and gasoline, we think each product deserves a specific look. Contrary to diesel, which is going down in the international market, gasoline is going up. So inventories will likely be recomposed in the U.S., especially where gasoline consumption is going to increase, putting pressure on international prices. Not only do we look at this, but we also see our internal potential in Brazil, especially in our refining capacity and logistics. For diesel and gasoline, we have a broader perspective, and external volatility is also a factor. There are extremely strong geopolitical factors putting pressure on prices, and high levels of volatility. For diesel, with which we recently had three price reductions, the first quarter was particularly interesting. We had significant growth in the Midwest. For gasoline, we see stable prices but we are assessing the prices every day and our logistics capacity helps keep it balanced.
Thank you. We will now hear from Rodolfo Angele from JPMorgan. Go ahead, sir.
Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. My first question is about costs. The message from the CEO was interesting in adjusting the company for lower oil prices. We've noticed, and discussed with investors, that lifting costs have gone up. Can you give us more color on what initiatives you're taking? What is the highest potential for cost-cutting? And if possible, what value do you expect to capture? That's my first question. The second question is, with lower price scenarios, will we see companies getting more conservative about their cash use? Would you know if there'll be lower CapEx levels and maybe some extraordinary dividends throughout the year? Thank you.
Hi, Rodolfo. Let's start with your second question about CapEx. I want to reiterate that our commitment is with the sustainability of the company and adequately compensating all our investors. When coming across a lower brand, you have to take measures. As we said, we are optimizing corporate expenditures to return to historical levels. This is one objective, simplifying projects. We had a project that was postponed for engineering review to make it more efficient and prioritizing projects that bring positive cash flows. Today's projects are Petrobras' future, and they'll be prioritized, but we must first analyze our possibilities of reducing costs before considering reducing CapEx. Sylvia, Renata, would you like to add anything about costs?
Well, one way for us to assess cost optimization is through increased operational efficiency in offshore areas. In the onshore areas, we are discussing significant reductions of all costs to ensure a positive ROI for all of our assets, and we'll keep on improving it with optimizations and searches for lower costs to produce better results and lower costs.
Thank you, Fernando and Sylvia. Now moving on to Vicente Falanga from Bradesco BBI. Vicente, you have the floor.
Thank you. I have two questions. We haven't seen some FPSOs delivering growth for some time. In the Maria Quiteria area, are there any difficulties faced by these projects? Are revamps profitable, or is it about time to rethink these assets and maybe resell these? About gas and energy, which dropped expressively this quarter, can we say that the company will recover its EBITDA with the route-free ramp-up? If so, at what levels will the EBITDA stabilize after this ramp-up? Thank you.
Vicente, when we deal with revamping projects, they’re mature fields. To resume production levels, they require more water injection and more operating wells. Differently from pre-salt fields, these take longer. In the case of these fields, the forecast is 2026. The same forecast goes for Maria Quiteria as anticipated; it will only reach peak levels towards the end of the year.
You're right. The productivity of pre-salt wells reaches 50,000 or 60,000 barrels per day from one well only. This allows us to top up a platform, which is different from what Sylvia mentioned about the revamping projects. All revamp projects are submitted to our robustness factors. Our best project is Albacora. We will keep on implementing these projects. We’re envisioning Albacora, and we have a topside, which we are measuring for possibilities. It's 35,000 tons, and we’re also looking at other projects. We’re managing to simplify Albacora after many conversations with the market to bring important efficiency to the project.
Thank you. When it comes to gas, Vicente, we’re implementing aggressive policies to capture new clients in the free market. We have seen considerable progress in this quarter and will continue to see more. There’s also a premium for increased market demand across distributors and the free market, generating more revenue and clients. Key aspects show our results getting better, and the operational return of the OPGN also improves competitiveness. We are prepared for the auction scheduled to happen, and we have existing plants registered for this tender and good expectations around hiring these plants. Thank you, Bruno Montanari from Morgan Stanley. You have the floor.
Good afternoon, and thanks for answering my questions. First, about the CapEx. Is it sensible to think that it was slightly higher than normal in the beginning of the year? Maybe the second and third quarters will likely decrease before increase. Secondly, the beginning of the year was strong for oil production in Brazil. How was the scheduled maintenance pipeline for the months, and which units have maintenance scheduled over the next few months? Please clarify.
Hi, Bruno. Thank you for your question. About CapEx, there's been a transfer from measurements in December, with the first payment occurring in Q1 2025. This carryover effect and some measurements that were completed in Q1 2025 are leading to additional payments, returning to normal after that period. Our guidance remains at $18.5 billion. Regarding scheduled maintenances, they are essential for the safety of our rigs. Our downtime for P-68, 70 FPSO, resulted in 245,000 barrels due to downtimes as planned.
Thank you. Renato would you like to add anything?
Yes, please. Our expectation is to stay within the CapEx guidance, at $18.5 billion, with a 10% margin. Most large projects are already contracted, minimizing bumps along the road for this year.
Thank you. Matheus from UBS, you have the floor.
Thank you. First question is about dividends. The way our policy is set up, if oil is close to or below $60 per barrel, Petrobras may be required to issue debt to pay dividends of 45% in free cash flow. If it comes to that, would it make sense for you to change the policy? My second question is about LNG. We understand there are restrictions regarding supply and the company must depend on the LNG market. How do you see competition in this industry given the higher costs? What are your strategies for increasing LNG availability?
Good afternoon, Matheus. First, I want to reiterate our commitment to the ordinary dividends according to the methodology of 45% over free cash flow. It gets adjusted according to our base. Regarding debt size, we decided it would remain at $75 billion with three main motivations: potential investments not seen back then, to account for freight concerning the first oil in Maria Quiteria and Tamandare, and cash management for any cash flow changes. With our commitment to maintaining dividend payments, extraordinary dividends will depend on the ability to generate cash flow.
Matheus, about LNG and infrastructure, we are preparing for future increases in LNG production. Investments in refining and capacity expansions focus primarily on diesel while also extending to LNG in the BOAVENTURA complex. We see existing producers registering in the competitive LNG market, but company efforts to increase LNG production are ongoing.
Thank you, Fernando and Schlosser. We will now hear from Rodrigo Almeida from Santander Bank. Go ahead.
Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for taking my question. I have a specific point about the equatorial margin. I think there were some advances, at least from the outside. Could you provide an update on licensing processes and exploration in the region? Do you have any licenses approved? On the long-term view of the equatorial margin, if developing assets in the region, how will the business plan support these additional investments in CapEx? Would you share assets with other partners to help fund these projects?
Hi, Rodrigo. Yes, our expectations for the equatorial margins are positive. We have fulfilled all requirements from Ibama with two centers in Belem, Oiapoque, awaiting approval to start drilling. Our strategic plan allocates $3 billion for the margin, with 15 wells planned over the next five years. It may take four or five additional years for production to begin once a field is marked.
Hi, Rodrigo, that's an excellent question as it allows us to highlight our readiness. We recently conducted a simulation with over 200 people involved, responding to emergencies. Our results were good, demonstrating our preparedness for pre-operational assessments for licenses. We’re in a strong position to begin our operations in Oiapoque.
Thank you, Clarice. We'll now hear questions from Gabriel Barra. Gabriel, can you hear us?
Hi, everyone. Can you hear me? Thank you for taking my questions. I have two. The first involves OTC and supplier dynamics in Brazil. Can you give feedback on how we can solve those issues regarding service projects? Secondly, regarding the gas market, there have been discussions about opening the gas market in Brazil. What would the company’s strategy be regarding the BOAVENTURA and the existence of an LNG market? What's the plan for increasing the availability of gas?
Hi, Gabriel. We have been simplifying our projects. We aim for projects to have minimal changes and maintain a lean structure. We've recently observed increased competition in the local market, allowing us to make better offers. This simplification helps increase participation and competitiveness in our tenders.
Yes, Gabriel. You're correct about the competitive environment for gas. With the opening of the market, we are negotiating contracts to secure new clients and are confident about launching new products to strengthen our market positions.
Thank you, Tolmasquim. Let's continue with the next question from Luiz Carvalho, BTG. Go ahead, sir.
Hello, good afternoon. Thank you for taking my question. My first is for Director Renata. Referring back to President Magda's comments about cost reduction and simplification, can you quantify the impacts of these processes? Do you have estimates of the costs of units? My second question is for Director Fernando about leverage. This quarter, the company saw net leverage around 1.5 times, recurring gross debt at $65 billion. What is the ideal maximum level of leverage while considering the current context?
Hi, Luis. Our expectation is for platforms to be below $3.5 billion, for rigs under $3.5 billion, depending on the complexity of each. They should not exceed that.
Hi, Luis. Lease is 70% of our leverage, and leasing connects to generating revenue. Experience shows financial leverage is much lower. Our targeted debt level is $75 billion, which maintains a sustainable cash flow while respecting dividend requirements.
Thank you, Fernando. Let's continue with Lilyanna Yang from HSBC. Go ahead.
Hi, thank you for taking my question. You've discussed investment plans for 2025, but I'd like to understand current cost pressures and if there's a possibility for executing CapEx above $18.5 billion in the budget. Can you also share the status of investment plans in fertilizers? Any ongoing studies for Petrobras' growth strategy in petrochemicals?
Lilyanna, we don't see any possibility of surpassing our CapEx guidelines. Fernando and I are committed to ensuring we don't exceed that, especially since prices are known. For 2026, we are currently planning those numbers, with adherence to defined caps.
Both petrochemicals and fertilizers are in our strategic planning; they form part of our investment portfolio for value generation. In May, the Paraná plant will resume operations after scheduled downtime. For projects like the F&P petrochemicals, we are assessing opportunities with potential expansions in production.
Thank you, Mario and Renata. Now there's a question from Regis Cardoso from XP. Regis, you have the floor.
Thank you, Eduardo and the board of Petrobras. A specific question about production. Can you address the scheduled timelines for platforms ramping up, and regarding investments could you clarify possibilities for adjustments under lower oil prices? Are there scopes we can reevaluate?
Our entire production faces a robust risk analysis. For last year, production levels stayed within the range of 2.7 million barrels, and for 2025, we expect to maintain around 2.8 million barrels. Units from Maria and Buzios are going into production now with expected ramp-ups.
Hello, Jorge. Our utilization factor was good and above 90%, even with prolonged downtimes. We expect further outages in Cubatão and Replan later this year but aim for average levels of 92-93% utilization throughout the year.
We’ve learned to monitor every operational step much more closely to ensure timely project advancements. Each phase matters, and ongoing simulations help us maintain readiness.
Thank you, everyone, for your attendance and questions. Fernando, do you have any final thoughts?
Our final message reflects that the company is aware of volatility tied to oil prices and potential scenarios. We analyze effects on the balance sheet and maintain steady commitment toward long-term results and cash flow sustainability. Thank you for your engagement.