Brazilian state owned and run oil and gas firm Petroleo Brasileiro is to invest about $400 billion in the period through 2020 in the development of crude findings in the country. In a report carried by Bloomberg, the major global oil producer is believed to be mulling plans for mega investments to develop what is currently considered the Americas’ biggest crude oil discoveries in over three decades.

Bloomberg quoted Brazilian Trade and Development Minister Miguel Jorge reiterating the oil giant’s move, as it seeks to further reinforce its global position. Speaking in Rio de Janeiro Thursday, the Minister said Petrobras investments in the Brazilian oil industry will create opportunities for companies such as General Electric, amongst others.

This announcement comes in the wake of the US based Generic Electric’s (GE) investment plans for Brazil, consisting of some $500 million to be put into a number of sectors. The Minister reiterated that GE will expand production of equipment for the oil and transportation industries in Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy.

Reinforced and supported by its thriving oil and mining industries, Brazil is among the world’s fast growth areas, and an investment in such an area is strategic, said Ferdinando Beccalli-Falco, head of GE’s international operations.

Petrobras fresh investment plans are not the first such undertaking the firm has gone into this year. Petrobras previously announced plans to invest $224 billion in the five years through 2014, the global oil industry’s biggest spending plan. Petrobras still plans to revise its investment plan in 2011 to include the development of new oil reserves it bought from the government as part of a $70 billion share sale, the largest in history.

Currently, the state owned oil giant is working on the offshore Tupi field and may take a minimum stake of 30 per cent in the government’s Libra field, the Americas’ biggest oil discoveries since Mexico’s Cantarell in 1976. Tupi and Libra, which may hold as much as 8 billion barrels and 15 billion barrels, respectively, are in a deep-water region known as the pre-salt along Brazil’s coast.

Petrobras said Thursday its third-quarter net earnings jumped nearly 8 per cent on rising domestic demand and higher oil prices. It reported net profits of 8.57 billion reals in the July-September period, up from 7.94 billion reals in the same period a year ago.

12 Nov 2010.