Nielmar de Oliveira
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Rio – On Friday, Petrobras officially announced that Brazil is self-sufficient in petroleum production as it inaugurated and put into operation a new oil rig, the P-50, in the presence of president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The P-50 is now the biggest oil rig in operation in Brazil, with a production capacity of 180,000 barrels per day, which works out to about 11% of total domestic production. It is located in the Albacora East oil field in the Campos basin (an area off the coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro). Around 85% of Brazilian domestic production of oil is in the Campos basin.

Last month, average total domestic production at Petrobras was 1.75 million barrels per day.

With the P-50 in operation, total production will rise to slightly over 1.90 million barrels per day. Domestic demand in Brazil is about 1.80 million barrels per day.

Translation: Allen Bennett