Petrobras, Brazil's state-run oil company, said its first-quarter profit jumped 42% to $6.72 billion as increased production and higher global oil prices helped boost the company's bottom line. It was the second consecutive quarter the company reported a record profit.
A 42% increase in quarterly profits helped Petrobras (PBR) outpace the profit increases shown by Chevron (CVX), the second-largest U.S. oil company, and Royal Dutch Shell (RDS-A), Europe's largest oil company.
The surge in oil prices also resulted in higher domestic prices for aviation fuel and naphtha, which advanced 20% and 13%, respectively, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company sold an average of 2.344 million barrels per day in its home market in the first quarter. Petrobras is aiming to boost production to 4 million barrels a day by 2020.
Regarding its ambitious $224 billion five-year exploration budget, Petrobras did not alter that plan. Analysts were expecting the company might ratchet up what is already the largest exploration budget among the world's oil majors to $250 billion to $260 billion.
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