Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras said on Wednesday its second-quarter crude oil production fell 0.6% compared to the same period last year.
The firm pumped 2.10 million barrels per day (bpd) between April and June, it said in a securities filing.
Including natural gas, the company produced a daily average of 2.64 million barrels of oil equivalent (boed) in the period, also 0.6% below the second quarter of 2022.
The company attributed the decline mainly to losses from maintenance stoppages, in addition to the natural decline of mature oil fields and asset sales.
This was partially offset, however, by the ramp-up of its P-71 platform in the Itapu field and the start of production of a new FPSO in the Buzios field, Petrobras said.
Analysts at JPMorgan said the figures were solid but expected, highlighting the "very strong production on higher utilization factor" in the company's refineries.
Refinery utilization rates landed at 93%, up eight percentage points quarterly and four percentage points annually.
Last week, the firm's CEO Jean Paul Prates said the firm is reaping positive results from the maximum use of its refineries.
Petrobras also said its total oil, gas and derivatives sales fell 9.3% to 2.82 million boed, with domestic sales accounting for 2.14 million barrels.
Sales of diesel, Brazil's most popular fuel, came in at 721,000 bpd, 3.9% below the previous year. Gasoline sales meanwhile grew 15.7% to 434,000 bpd.
(Reuters - Reporting by Peter Frontini and Marta Nogueira; Editing by Brendan O'Boyle and Grant McCool)
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