Brasília – International instability has not been affecting Petrobras investment. According to the president of the state-owned company, Maria das Graças Foster, the company’s forecasted for 2012 will be the greatest in history and should total R$ 88 billion (US$ 47 billion). The calculation presented by her, in a public address at the Lower House, considers an average oil price of US$ 130.
The state-owned company considers a scenery in which the price of the barrel of oil should reach a maximum average price US$ 130 in 2012. "We [currently] work at [a cost of] US$ 119 per barrel. I guarantee you that not passing on the price difference to customers up to now has not affected our investment capacity. The international price conjecture has not affected the Petrobras investment capacity,” she said.
To Foster, high oil prices are very bad for development of economies. "Petrobras supplies practically 100% of the Brazilian market… 98% [to be precise]. It is important for us not to transfer these levels to future prices, in case Brent oil rises according to some forecasts. There are, however, other forecasts that estimate oil at US$ 100,” she added.
Among the investment is the purchase of drills made domestically. “Currently, all our drills are imported, and many of them are arriving late,” she explained. The initial forecast was for the state-owned company to purchase 33 new drills made locally, as well as another 40 to be ordered before the end of this year to supply the domestic demand.
*Translated by Mark Ament
