After 50 years of research and development on the energy sector Brazil has reached self-sufficiency in petroleum, guaranteed with the entry into operation of platform Petrobras 50 (P-50). The P-50 structure will be the largest in operation in the country, adding over 180,000 barrels of oil to Brazilian production.
Apart from producing oil, P-50 will have capacity for compression of six million cubic metres of natural gas and will store another 1.6 million barrels of oil. According to the concept adopted by Petrobras ( SAO:PETR3, SAO:PETR4, NYSE:PBR), self-sufficiency is the availability of oil produced at equal or greater or equal volumes to the refining capacity in the country, for the supply of the domestic market.
Today, the domestic demand for the product is around 1.8 million barrels (the same as the National Refining Park), whereas production after the start of operation of the P-50 should reach year-end at a daily average of between 1.9 million and 1.91 million barrels
Next year as well, Petrobras expects to place in operation platform P-34, which will be installed in the Jubarte Field, in the Espírito Santo Basin. The forecast is that this platform will have a daily production of 60-70 thousand barrels of petroleum.
The main activities of Petrobras are to create an infrastructure for exploration, production and supply of byproducts for the industrial progress of Brazil. These areas together operate with another eleven supporting entities called services and form the Petrobras System*.
Two of these services are fundamental: the Cenpes - Petrobras Research Center, that has one of the most advanced technologies in the world and attends several Petrobras segments, and the Engineering Service, responsible for putting the corporate projects into practice through its operations.
The state enterprise plans to build another around 12 production units scheduled to go into operation by 2010, with the hope to reach 2010 producing 2.3 million barrels of oil in Brazil.
*Petrobras System includes four subsidiaries besides the holding operations: Petrobras Química S.A - Petroquisa (SAO:PTQS3, SAO:PTQS4), operating in the petrochemical industry, Petrobras Disctibuidora S.A. - BR, in petroleum byproduct distribution, Petrobras Internacional S.A. - Braspetro, in exploration and production and in providing technical and administrative services overseas and Petrobras Gás S.A. - Gaspetro, responsible for the Bolivia-Brazil gas pipeline and Petrobras Transporte S.A. - Transpetro, created to execute the maritime shipping of the company activities.
Friday, April 21, 2006
