Posted on 01/26/2009 5:21:45 AM PST by thackney
Brazil's state-led Petrobras plans to spend $174.4 billion for capital expenditures over the next four years, CEO Jose Gabrielli said Friday.
The 2009-2013 spending would best by 36% the $112.4 billion plan Petrobras had in place for 2008-2012.
The 2009-2013 investment plan was "very robust and very important for the continuity of Petrobras' growth," Gabrielli said a press conference in Rio de Janeiro to announce the capital spending plan. The press conference was broadcast live over the Internet.
Petrobras was basing its capital spending on an average crude price of $42/barrel for the four-year period, including a $37/b basis this year and $40/b in 2010, Gabrielli said.
Capital spending for new exploration and production projects are to total $47.9 billion for 2009-2013, with $28 billion slated for work in Brazil's recently discovered and huge offshore pre-salt assets.
Petrobras expects 2012 production target of 3.3 million boe/d and 2002 production of 5.1 million boe/d, Gabrielli said.
Production from Petrobras' pre-salt reserves is seen at 219,000 b/d by 2013, 582,000 b/d by 2015 and 1.8 mil b/d by 2020, he said. The company in September had said it planned to produce around 1.26 million b/d of pre-salt oil by 2017.
Petrobras plans to spend $2.4 billion to expand production, Gabrielli said. "It is important to expand our presence in ethanol and biofuels." Brazil is a major producer of ethanol from sugarcane.
Petrobras was originally set to unveiled its 2009-2013 capex plans in September but the company moved the date back several times because of the financial uncertainty caused by the worldwide credit crunch.
In August, before the crisis hit, Gabrielli asked the Brazilian Congress to approve a budget of Real$72 billion ($30.7 billion at current rates) for 2009. However, Brazilian media reported in December the presidential chief of staff Dilma Rousseff said the company would invest around Real$40 billion, about 20% less than in 2008.
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