Brazil to invest $540 billion in energy projects by 2020

Brazil, South America's second largest oil producer after Venezuela, plans to invest $540 billion in energy projects over the next nine years, the state-owned Energy Research Corporation (ERC) said in a new report.

According to the Oil and Gas Journal (OGJ), Brazil had 12.6 billion barrels of proven oil reserves in 2009, and is poised to overtake Venezuela in 2011.

Of the planned 540 billion investments, about 70 per cent will be made in the oil and natural gas projects, while $287 billion will be invested in exploration and production projects, which will allow the world's eighth largest economy to double its production of oil from the current 2 million barrels per day to nearly 5.1 million barrels per day by 2020.

Brazil's oil production has grown 50 per cent since 2000 and is currently producing around 2 million barrels per day.

Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras has projected oil production of 2.25 million barrels per day in 2010, about 2.43 million bpd in 2011, and 2.58 million bpd by 2012.

The ERC report, released yesterday, showed that Petrobras is investing $85 billion on five new refineries that are already under construction.