Rio, 1/6/2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The new president of Petrobras, José Eduardo Dutra, says that the corporation will maintain its presence on the international scene. The area priority will be Latin America, says Dutra, and an effort wil be made to strengthen our presence in Africa for a number of reasons: the ethnic and cultural affinities we have, and the opportunity for Petrobras to use its world leadership in deep-water drilling.

Dutra also promised to work closely with the Ministry of Mines and Energy "with the principal objective of eliminating, once and for all, the possibility of future rationing in the energy sector." (AB)