RIO DE JANEIRO (Dow Jones)--Brazilian state-run energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR, PETR4.BR), or Petrobras, will need to raise $60 billion in global debt markets over the next five years, Chief Executive Jose Sergio Gabrielli said late Thursday.
Petrobras already plans to tap debt markets in 2011, Gabrielli said.
Last month's massive share offer, the world's largest ever, added about $25 billion in cash to Petrobras' coffers, but the oil company still has financing needs related to its ambitious $224 billion investment plan over the next five years, Gabrielli said.
The share offer allowed Petrobras to reduce its leverage, once again opening the door to the company's overseas debt issues, which typically attract heated investor interest.
Petrobras's net debt-to-equity ratio will fall to 16% after the offer, down from 34% at the end of the second quarter. Petrobras pegged its comfort range at between 25% and 35%, Chief Financial Officer Almir Barbassa said.
While the company's investment plans leave it still in need of financial resources,
Barbassa said the company's third-quarter earnings results will show Petrobras flush with cash. "You are going to see an enormous quantity of resources available that will be present for a long time," Barbassa said.
-By Jeff Fick, Dow Jones Newswires; 55-21-2586-6085;
Jeff.Fick@dowjones.com
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