Brazil oil firm sets oil output record in April

Rio de Janeiro, May 9 (IANS/EFE) Brazilian state-controlled energy giant Petrobras set a new monthly record for oil output in April, producing an average of 2.03 million barrels of crude per day at its domestic fields.

That total eclipsed the previous record - set last September - by 29,000 barrels per day, the company said in a statement Friday.

Petrobras also registered a single-day record for oil output during the month, producing 2.08 million barrels April 24.

The improved result was due to strong performance by drilling platforms located along the coast of the states of Rio de Janeiro and Espirito Santo, an area of the Campos basin where several wells recently came online, Petrobras said.

Production from inland wells at two fields in the northwestern state of Amazonas - Rio Urucu and Leste do Urucu - also contributed to the result.

The company’s goal for this year is to achieve daily average output at domestic fields of 2.1 million barrels per day once the Cidade de Santos and Capixaba floating production, storage and offloading units come online in the coming months.

Petrobras has a presence in more than two-dozen countries in the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania.

Shares of Petrobras, a global leader in deepwater oil exploration and production, trade on the Sao Paulo, New York, Madrid and Buenos Aires stock exchanges, but the Brazilian government retains control through a golden share.

–IANS/EFE