The international financial crisis and low oil prices have forced the state-owned energy giant Petrobras to postpone some exploration projects, a company official said Tuesday.
Jose Jorge de Moraes, Petrobras' director of exploration and production, said the adjustments are necessary and will be detailed in the company's investment plan. The plan, which is being revised and due to be released in December, has been postponed at least four times in the past few months.
Moraes said Petrobras will prioritize projects that have a faster return and allow for the extraction of light oil. He stressed that the exploration of pre-salt layer oil fields will not suffer any changes and may even be benefited by lower equipment prices.
Petrobras next year will start to drill in the Tupi, Iara, Jupiter and Azulao pre-salt layer oil fields, which will produce about one million barrels of oil per day by 2015.
The adjustments will not affect the company's production targets for 2009 and 2010 but the delay may cause a production decrease in 2012 and 2013, Moraes said.
