Brazil Crude Oil, Natural Gas Output Sets Record in Dec -ANP

RIO DE JANEIRO (Dow Jones Newswires), Jan. 31, 2011

Brazil set a record for crude oil and natural gas production in December as state-run energy giant Petrobras ramped up output at several fields, the country's oil regulator said Monday.

Brazil produced 2.18 million barrels of crude oil per day in December, up 9.1% from December 2009, the National Petroleum Agency, or ANP, said. The production figure was up 4.4% from November's output of 2.09 million barrels a day.

In addition, the country produced 69 million cubic meters of natural gas per day in December, an increase of 14.5% from December 2009, the ANP said. Natural gas output climbed 4.5% from November, when 66.2 million cubic meters per day was produced.

Increased production at the Cachalote, Jubarte and Marlim fields helped boost December's crude oil and natural gas output to record levels, the ANP said. Petrobras has ramped up output at the fields by hooking up new wells to platforms and bringing new platforms up to full production capacity in recent months.

Brazil produced 91.4% of its crude oil and 75.7% of its natural gas in December from offshore fields, the ANP said.

Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.


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