Agência Brasil*
Rio de Janeiro – Petrobras plans to increase petrol exports to compensate the lower consumption on the domestic market, due to the greater consumption of fuel alcohol – which overtook petrol in February, a fact that had not taken place since the end of the 1980s, at the height of the Pro-Alcohol, an ancient Brazilian government program that favoured the production of alcohol.
This information was disclosed on Friday (25) by the de Supply and Refining director at the organisation, Paulo Roberto Costa, on recalling that the state-owned company should invest US$ 8.5 billion over the next years in improvement of the quality of the petrol produced in the country and in the reduction of sulphur content. With this, the company may enter more demanding markets, like the European and United States, the main petrol consumer in the world, using around 9 million barrels a day.
"Alcohol consumption in Brazil is growing very much, mainly as the price of the product is now very competitive. Therefore, up to 2010, Petrobras is going to work to improve the quality of its petrol, by which time we should have premium petrol, with better quality to be sold on the foreign market – mainly in Europe and North America," he said.
Paulo Roberto Costa stated that Petrobras currently exports petrol to several nations, but said that the plan is to reach new consumer markets.
"Our petrol goes to South America, Central America, Africa and the Middle East – where there are great producers and exporters of oil that do not have sufficient refining capacity to supply their own markets. We export petrol, for example, to Iran," he said.
Regarding the sulphur content in petrol, Costa said that starting in 2010 the market might be expanded "to countries in Asia – mainly Japan – and Europe, which are more demanding in the environmental point of view."
*Translated by Mark Ament
