Brazil Expects Oil Output to More Than Double in 10 Years

From Bloomberg News:

Brazil aims to more than double oil output in the next 10 years as part of 1 trillion reais ($604 billion) of energy investments expected for the period, Energy Minister Edison Lobao said today. The country’s oil output will rise 161 percent, Lobao told reporters in Brasilia today. Brazil produced a record 2.5 million barrels a day of oil and natural gas in November, according to government data. The country plans to auction licenses for its so-called pre-salt deepwater reserves in the second half, he said.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Brazil’s state-run oil producer, plans to spend $224 billion in the five years through 2014, the industry’s biggest investment program. Foreign oil companies including Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Chevron Corp. are also increasing production in the country as they develop offshore oil fields.

Petrobras investments include tapping the Lula field, formerly known as Tupi, the second-largest find in the Americas since Mexico discovered Cantarell in 1976. Libra, the largest, will be part of the first pre-salt auction this year.