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ANP head Rodolfo Saboia, shown in June 2021 (Photo: Brazilian government)

ANP head comments on projected

pace of Brazil’s oil output increase

RODOLFO Saboia, the director-general of time to bring these units up to their full design
Brazil’s National Agency of Petroleum, Natural capacity. “It takes almost an entire year to reach
Gas and Biofuels (ANP), said last week that his full capacity in a platform like this,” Reuters
country was on track to raise its hydrocarbon quoted him as saying.
production by 3mn barrels of oil equivalent per Fernanda Delgado, the executive director of
day (boepd) by the end of the decade but could the Brazilian Petroleum and Gas Institute (IBP),
not speed up the rate of increase to make up for also emphasised the need for taking the time to
the removal of Russian crude from the market. bring new facilities up to full capacity. “This is
“Production will grow, but there isn’t much just not an instant process,” she told the news
that can be done to accelerate it,” he told Reu- agency.”
ters. “There is [only] so much the industry can Albuquerque had said last week that oil
deliver.” He was speaking after US Energy Sec- companies operating within Brazil would seek
retary Jennifer Granholm asked Brazil’s Mining to ramp up their production in an effort to com-
and Energy Minister Bento Albuquerque for pensate for the rise in crude prices that followed
help in making more oil available for sale on the the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
global market. Among the companies that are reportedly
Saboia was not the only Brazilian industry looking to expand production are state-owned
figure to make this point. João Henrique Ritter- Petrobras, the largest oil producer in the coun-
shaussen, the head of production at the national try, as well as Equinor (Norway), Galp (Portu-
oil company (NOC) Petrobras, told Reuters that gal), Shell (UK) and TotalEnergies (France).
it took time to bring new production capacity Albuquerque said that while he was unable
on stream. to confirm the exact extent of the increase that
For example, Rittershaussen noted, Petrobras each firm might effect, he remained confident
is slated to launch 15 new offshore production of the companies’ intentions. “All of them want
platforms capable of extracting 2.425mn barrels to do it,” he stated. “The companies have sig-
per day (bpd) of oil by 2026. However, only one nalled [their intention to increase production
of these is due to begin operating before the end this year], not out of good will, but because the
of 2022, he said, and it will only be able to han- market is attractive.”
dle 180,000 bpd, or 7.42% of the total. Another Currently, Brazil is one of the leading oil pro-
five platforms with a capacity of 630,000 bpd, or ducers worldwide. It extracted just below 4mn
about 26% of the total, will follow suit in 2023, boepd of crude on average in 2021 and may
he stated. see yields reach 7mn boepd by the end of the
He also stressed, though, that it would take decade.

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 12 24•March•2022