The latter part of 2022 was marked by significant price volatility, driven by a combination of external and internal factors. Nevertheless, fuel demand continued to expand, aligned with resumption of economic growth as the economy normalized after Covid-19 disruptions. Exploration and Production (E&P) activities had a surge in investments, caused by both regulatory and economic incentives. The mid- and downstream sectors also had an influx in capital, to guarantee supply and logistics due to the demand growth. Price formation gained more visibility, especially due to changes in taxation and in government program RenovaBio.
There are significant changes in early 2023. Taxes on oil products had been either reduced or suspended altogether to manage inflation (stemming from consistently high international oil prices) and were gradually reinstated over the year. Another moviment was Petrobras' new oil products pricing policy. The company maintained the alignment with international prices but introduced some considerations about their domestic costs into the calculus, such as fuel opportunity costs. The company's natural gas pricing policy was modified as well. Petrobras also has changed its strategies concerning the energy transition, downstream participation shares and its divestment program. Instead of focusing on oil and production from its main fields, its objective is diversify investments and scope. Also, an important bid round, 1st Production Sharing Open Acreage cycle, took place and a new record domestic oil production was attained in the first half of 2023.
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