Petrobras’s finances have come under intense strain since a multibillion-dollar bribery scandal emerged at the company in 2014. With about $104bn in net debt — the highest for any company in the energy sector — Petrobras has sought to sell assets and reduce spending. The company has stopped paying dividends. The company said on Tuesday that its planned cuts in capital spending would probably reduce its expected oil output in Brazil this year from 2.185m barrels a day to 2.145m. As well as lower spending on energy projects, Petrobras highlighted the negative impact of the sharp depreciation of the Brazilian real against the dollar, which it said was responsible for $10.7bn of the cuts. With more than 80 per cent of its debt in foreign currencies, the weaker real has caused Petrobras’s debt to swell. During the past five years, its gross debt has grown fourfold and represents the biggest challenge ahead for Aldemir Bendine, the company’s new chief executive.