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Major oil companies 'eager to invest in Brazil'

Date added: 10th May, 2010 at 14:28
(view all articles from May, 2010)

Categories: Economy

Major multinational oil firms are keen to invest in Brazil, according to Bain and Company partner Pedro Cordeiro.

Speaking to Reuters at the Latin American Investment Summit in Sao Paulo, Mr Cordeiro said new and significant oil finds off the coast of Brazil are attracting global oil giants to the country.

Petrobras, a state-owned oil company, announced on Friday that it achieved record monthly production levels in April with an average of 2,033 thousand barrels per day compared with its previous high of 2,004 thousands barrels per day. This constitutes a 2.9 per cent increase in output from last year and a 1.9 per cent rise from March 2010.

Reuters reported that it is estimated the oil fields could produce between 50 billion to 100 billion barrels of crude oil and, according to Mr Cordeiro, gas and oil accounts for around eight to ten per cent of Brazil's gross domestic product (GDP) and is set to reach 25 per cent of GDP in the next ten years.

The oil fields, however, are not the only pull for companies wanting to invest in Brazil, Mr Cordeiro noted.

"Construction, infrastructure, the electric energy, companies are eager to find a way into these sectors here. There are companies that left Brazil during hyperinflation and now regret leaving. Unilever (ULVR.L) stayed and its decision has now paid off. It has done very well," he added.

Brazil's economy was one of the first to recover from recession after the global financial crisis and more growth is expected, driven by domestic consumer demand, the information source reported. ADNFCR-1477-ID-19767246-ADNFCR