Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras : We participated in the opening ceremony of the 2016 Rio Oil & Gas

We have reason to have a 'cautious and justified hope that we have been put back on a path of steady and consistent recovery,' said our CEO, Pedro Parente, at the opening ceremony of the Rio Oil & Gas Expo and Conference, on Monday, in Rio de Janeiro. To him, the oil and gas industry can respond quickly to stable rules in the sector. 'I can state without a doubt that many billions of dollars await only for proper and stable rules to start flowing. Petrobras and its partnership and divestments program alone will account for investments of around $95 billion over the next five years - of which $75 billion own and $20 billion of partners,' he noted.

The ability to choose which fields we will be operators of in the pre-salt; and the relaxation of local content rules were also featured topics at the ceremony. According to president Temer, 'unburdening' the company and bringing the private sector in will lead to job creation. 'Petrobras' institutional and financial recovery will give new impetus to the industry,' he said.

'The hardest part starts now,' says Parente

'Although today we have a good, solid strategic plan, we know that the hardest part starts now: Implementing that plan and delivering results as planned,' said Pedro Parente. We set a 36 percent reduction in our Recordable Accident Rate and a decrease in our net debt to cash generation ratio from 5.3, in 2015, to 2.5 in 2018 as key metrics in the Strategic Plan and 2017-2021 Business and Management Plan.

Parente stressed that both the leadership and the workforce are taking on all the challenges together, and attributed part of the recognition we have gained in this recovery phase to the conditions President Michel Temer gave him to manage the company. The CEO highlighted our technical capacity and recent production records, especially in the pre-salt.

The chairman of the Brazilian Institute of Oil, Gas and Biofuels (IBP), Jorge Camargo, said that competitiveness will be the main subject addressed in this edition of the Rio Oil & Gas. 'We live in times of abundant energy resources and restricted budgets. This is a resilient industry. This is neither the first nor the last crisis we will go through,' he said.

Pedro Parente and the directors of Exploration & Production, Solange Guedes; Refining & Natural Gas, Jorge Celestino; Corporate Affairs, Hugo Repsold, and of Production and Technology Development, Roberto Moro, inaugurated our booth this morning at the 2016 Rio Oil & Gas trade show. The stand measures about 650 sqm and highlights the technologies used in the development of the pre-salt, output results, and the evolution that has taken place in the exploration of that province. The main attraction is the immersive virtual reality experience that simulates an offshore operation in the pre-salt. Another highlight is the display with the pre-salt rocks. The booth also has room to service suppliers, in addition to a space dedicated to technical lectures.

The opening ceremony was also attended by the President of the Republic, Michel Temer, the governors of Rio de Janeiro, Luiz Fernando Pezão, and of Espírito Santo, Paulo Hartung, the Minister of Mines and Energy, Fernando Coelho Filho, the interim minister of Planning, Development and Management, Dyogo Oliveira, by the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, and by the director general of the National Petroleum Agency (NPA), Magda Chambriard.