Agência Brasil*
Rio de Janeiro – A press statement disclosed by Brazilian oil company Petrobras shows that oil production in the country grew 2.3% in January, in comparison with the same month in 2007, but dropped 1.5% over December last year, with a daily average of 1,826,122 barrels.
A stop for maintenance in the oil pipeline that connects Atum and Xaréu fields, in the northeastern Brazilian state of Ceará, according to the statement, was responsible for the 28,600 barrel reduction in the daily average.
Also contributing to the result was the fact that platform vessel Seillean left Golfinho Field, in Espírito Santo (SE), for Marlim Leste field, in Campos Basin, where it started producing on February 5.
The natural gas production in national fields reached a daily average of 46.32 million cubic metres a day in January, a stable result in comparison with December but a 7.8% increase (around 3.3 million cubic metres a day) over January 2007.
Considering the Petrobras fields in Brazil and abroad, adds the statement, total production of oil and natural gas reached 2,344,541 barrels of oil equivalent in January, 2.6% over January 2007, but 1% less than in December.
The volume of oil and gas in the eight foreign countries in which the company has fields, alone, ended January with average daily production of 227,042 barrels, 1.4% over December and practically the same as in January 2007.
*Translated by Mark Ament
