Off the wire
• Two police officers shot south of San Francisco  • China-U.S. relations shouldn't be hijacked by South China Sea issue: Chinese ambassador  • Urgent: Strong quake strikes off western Indonesia, no tsunami alert issued  • FLASH: 6.2 MAGNITUDE QUAKE OFF INDONESIA'S SUMATRA: USGS REPORTS  • UN urges rapid solution for Yemen in light of suffering  • China makes progress in exchange rate flexibility: U.S. Treasury official  • China's banks in pretty good shape, not vulnerable to financial crisis, U.S. expert says  • Canadian stocks flat as crude retreats  • Oil prices drop ahead of OPEC meeting  • Sudan welcomes Qatari consultations with two Darfur rebel movements  
You are here: 　 Home

New Petrobras chief confirms assets sale to pay off debt

Xinhua, June 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

Pedro Parente, the new president of Brazilian oil giant Petrobras, announced Wednesday that the company would continue selling off assets in order to pay down its massive debt.

"We all know the situation of public finances. The company cannot count on help on the Treasury in such a situation. We must be realistic. This situation will be resolved by the sale of assets," said Parente at his first press conference.

Speaking at the Planalto presidential palace where interim president Michel Temer presented the new leaders of state-owned companies, Parente vowed that Petrobras would "use its own resources" to reduce debt and would not seek government assistance.

He also announced that the company would seek to divest around 14 billion U.S. dollars in assets by the end of 2016 and that the government would not interfere in Petrobras' divisions.

However, Parente could not rule out a rise in the price of oil in Brazil, saying "this would be the company's decision."

While oil prices have tumbled in recent years, Petrobras and the Brazilian government have paid out subsidies to keep prices essentially level, in order not to affect the public.

For the moment, Parente cautioned, there "was no information" about a possible rise in prices.

"We must look at all the numbers carefully. This decision will not be taken quickly but the decision about prices lies with the company," he said.

Petrobras has been plunged into a deep economic and institutional crisis in recent years, due to the oil price slump coupled with the discovery of a giant corruption ring within its ranks, which embezzled at least 2 billion dollars from the company between 2004 and 2014. Endit