State oil company begins a fourth consecutive year with positive numbers, but warns of a tighter 2024.

A positive result was reported by the National Petroleum Company (Enap) during the January-March 2024 period, obtaining an Ebitda of US$ 247.9 million and profits of US$ 110.5 million, which is above what was projected by the company for this year.

The state-owned company reported a decrease in margins in refining activity, which was partially offset by the optimization of the cost of the crude oil purchase basket.

“At the end of 2023, when we visualized the projected scenarios for this year, we said that we would have closer results and we proposed to work on a plan that would allow us, despite the context, to keep the company in the blue. This first quarter we achieved it and over our budget. We believe that we have taken the right path and we will continue to move forward to give Enap the viability it requires,” said general manager Julio Friedmann.

In the last 18 months Enap has achieved a reduction of its debt of US$1,000 million and with the results of this quarter it enters its fourth consecutive year with positive numbers, which is a milestone in the history of the company.

The executive added that “the company's management maintains the focus on financial responsibility and the execution of projects that improve our operational and environmental performance and the development of new businesses, since only in this way can we sustainably ensure the future of “Enap and its workers.”

The above explains the decision to reduce the company's financial exposure in its subsidiary Enap Sipetrol in Argentina.

The corporate manager of Administration and Finance of the state company, José Pablo Gómez, explained that this measure “is in line with the objective of reducing the risk of the asset portfolio and, in turn, the company's debt, mainly due to the decrease in investment commitments in that country.”