Nielmar de Oliveira
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Rio - Petrobras America, the Brazilian state enterprise's subsidiary in the United States, knocked down ten exploratory blocs in the central zone of the US portion of the Gulf of Mexico, in an auction sponsored by the Minerals Management Service, a US regulatory agency.

According to a note released by the company, Petrobras America submitted bids for 17 blocs, involving investments on the order of US$ 22.3 million. It won ten, all located in very deep waters.

With these blocs, the petroleum giant reinforces its position as one of the leaders in deep-sea exploration in the region, in which it already possesses three of the Gulf's most important discoveries, all of them currently in the delimitation stage.

Petrobras informed that it is also continuing to develop the Cottonwood field, located in the Garden Banks 244 bloc, in waters approximately 700 meters deep. The start-up of gas production in this field, the first in which Petrobras, which owns 80% of the shares, acts as an operating company in the United States, is set for the first quarter of 2007.

Petrobras data indicate that this year Petrobras America intends to invest around US$ 305 million and that investments on the exploration and development of petroleum and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico region are expected to grow to US$ 1.5 billion by 2010.

Translation: David Silberstein