Petrobras Explores

Petrobras,the state oil company of Brazil,has 5-8 billion barrels of estimated reserves.It has several exploratory wells in the Jupiter,Tupi and other fields.Many fields are in the final phase of appraisal.They are finding very good results,working with the four largest drillers,with whom Petrobras has years of experience.Petrobras is now producing 2.3 million bbl a day,but will increase that to 4.5 million over the next five years.They have made a very large investment in refining,and have enough resources to finance the projects,with a strong cash flow and a very high exploratory success rate,CEO Gabrielli asserted.

The Petrobras Powerhouse

Jose Sergio Gabrielli de Azevedo,CEO of Brazil's state oil firm Petroleio Brasileiro,or Petrobras(PBRa),predicts we are going to see a very high level of volatility in the oil markets over the next five years.There will be a very high level of price with a very heavy level of volatility.Petrobras is bigger than General Electric(GE)or Microsoft(MSFT),being the fifth largest company in the world.Its Tupi oil field will have an extended production test in March of 2009,and will enter a pilot production period at the end of 2010.It is a very deep field,requiring new types of technology.

Exxon Expands Search

Exxon Mobil(XOM) has ramped up its quest for new hydrocarbon fields.In 2007,Exxon replaced 76% of its production-the least in 14 years.A map of the Irving,Texas firm's drilling plans to meet this challenge is literally a map of the world.From Alaska to Indonesia,Exxon will be returning to its wildcat roots,drilling wells in areas not known for their oil and gas reserves,such as inland Germany,Ireland,Greenland,New Zealand and Madagascar.Using advanced technology that allows drilling from huge floating rigs up to two miles into the ocean floor,Exxon will explore off the coasts of Qatar,Angola,Nigeria and Libiya.By 2012,it expects 50% of its production to come from West Africa,Central Asia,Russia and the Middle East-up from today's 36%.Other exploration sites include Colombia and Brazil.The Brazil project is near Brazil's recent large discovery in the Tupi field.The largest Western oil company,Exxon will increase its capital spending by 25% to 125 billion U.S. over the next five years.