Petrobras to expand $ 174.4 bn investment plan

Petroleo Brasileiro, Brazil's state-controlled oil producer, plans to expand its $ 174.4 bn investment program as it develops offshore fields in the so-called pre-salt region.
Petrobras, as the company is known, will announce the expanded 2009-2013 plan in the first quarter, Chief Executive Officer Jose Sergio Gabrielli said at an event in Sao Paulo. He said the company may increase investments in "all areas," including oil exploration, production and refining, as well as fertilizer production and electricity projects.

Latin America's biggest company is investing to boost production by more than half and develop the Tupi field, the Americas' largest oil discovery in over three decades. The Rio de Janeiro-based company aims to increase total output to 3.7 mm bpd by 2013, up 52 % from 2.4 mm at the end of 2008.
By 2020, Petrobras expects to have more than doubled oil production to 5.7 mm bpd.