Second-quarter profits for Brazil's Petrobras dropped 20 per cent compared to the same period one year earlier, the state-run oil giant said.

Petrobras recorded profits of 4.96 billion reais ($2.22billion) in the quarter, the company said, compared to 6.2billion reais ($3billion) for the same period in 2013, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

Chief executive Graca Foster said that the slump in profits was due to an 800 million reais drop in revenue as well as an increase in federal taxes.

The company also imports petrol - its local refineries cannot meet the domestic demand - and sells it at a subsidised price as set by the Brazilian government.

Income from sales, however, stood at $36.9billion, up 12pc compared to the same period last year.

Only counting crude and liquefied natural gas production, Petrobras had an average production of 1,972 barrels per day in the second quarter, up from 1,931 barrels per day a year earlier. – TradeArabia News Service