Petrobras (PBR)

a) Economic hedge policy

Exchange risk is one of the financial risks that the company is exposed to and it originates from changes in the levels or volatility of the exchange rate. With respect to the management of these risks, Petrobras seeks to identify and handle them in an integrated manner, seeking to assure efficient allocation of the resources earmarked for economic hedge.

Taking advantage of operating in an integrated manner in the energy segment, the company seeks, primarily, to identify or create natural hedges, i.e. to benefit from the correlation between its income and expenses. In the specific case of exchange variation inherent to the contracts with the cost and remuneration involved in different currencies, this hedge is carried out through allocating the cash investments between the real and the US dollar or another currency.

The management of risks is done for the net exposure. Periodical analyses of the exchange risk are prepared, assisting the decisions of the executive committee. The exchange risk management strategy involves the use of derivative instruments to minimize the exchange exposure of certain obligations of the company.

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The subsidiary Petrobras Distribuidora carries out exchange economic hedge operations for covering the trading margins inherent to exports (aviation segment) for foreign clients. The objective of the operation, contracted concomitantly with the definition of the cost of the products exported, is to assure that the trading margins agreed to with the foreign clients are maintained during the period of validity of the negotiated prices, as well as during the commercial term for payment. Internal policy limits the volume of exchange economic hedge operations to the volume of products exported.