SAO PAULORIO DE JANEIRO, Reuters Brazilian staterun oil firm Petrobras approved on Thursday a payout of 20 billion reais 3.4 billion in extraordinary dividends to shareholders, and it lowered the minimum cash level required for its 111 billion strategic plan.

Petrobras said in a securities filing that around 15.6 billion reais of the payout would come out of a capital reserve that held cash investors had expected would be doled out months ago, as extraordinary dividends for the 2023 period.

The disbursement of the 2023 funds settles a matter that rocked Petrobras earlier this year, when its shares sank a day after its board in March voted to withhold extra dividends expected for 2023, a decision many saw as political interference from Brazil39;s government.

In a separate securities filing, Petrobras said its board approved on Thursday a 111 billion investment plan for 20252029, in line with what company management had proposed, but with a minimum cash level of 6 billion, down from 8 billion in the previous 20242028 plan.

In October, Chief Financial Officer Fernando Melgarejo had said Petrobras was considering a change in its minimum cash level and would distribute excess cash to shareholders.

The remaining 4.4 billion reais announced on Thursday are dividends from profits accumulated this year up to September, the company added. The total payout represents 1.55 real 0.27 per share, according to Petrobras.

STRATEGIC PLAN

Petrobras said in its new strategic plan that…