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20031-912 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ
Federative Republic of Brazil
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Clarification on Business Plan
(Rio de Janeiro, November 19 2008) – PETRÓLEO BRASILEIRO S/A - PETROBRAS, [Bovespa: PETR3/PETR4, NYSE: PBR/PBRA, Latibex: XPBR/XPBRA, BCBA: APBR/APBRA], a Brazilian international energy company, clarifies some news published during the day regarding the revision of its Business Plan and the postponement of the contracting of drilling rigs.
As informed in the Press Release issued on October 17, 2008, Petrobras postponed the announcement of the Business Plan to the end of the year due to the need to complete project analysis on account of the new conjuncture conditions. The current targets and investment plans of the Company are established in the Business Plan announced in August 2007, which covers the period from 2008 through 2012.
The Business Plan is still under revision, therefore the Company does not have enough inputs to inform about anticipations and delays of its projects, as well as about the potential impacts on the estimated production curve of the next years.
Since 2003, after various discoveries of light oil and natural gas outside Campos Basin, broadly announced, Petrobras strategy is focused on anticipating the production of light oil and natural gas. This strategy aims to maximize the return of the portfolio of projects due to the higher quality and price of light oil as well as the increase of the supply of natural gas to comply with the PLANGAS (Natural Gas Production Anticipation Plan).
Regarding the drilling rigs, in May 2008, Petrobras announced its intent to hire 40 drilling ships and semi-submersible drilling platforms to operate in deep and ultra- deep waters. The first 12 units contracted will be delivered for operation by 2012. The bidding of the remaining 28 units, expected to be built in Brazil, is not scheduled yet. However, this will not cause any delay to the start up of these units which is scheduled to occur only between 2013 and 2017.
www.petrobras.com.br/ri/english
Contacts: PETRÓLEO BRASILEIRO S. A. – PETROBRAS
Investor Relations Department | E-mail: petroinvest@petrobras.com.br / acionistas@petrobras.com.br
Av. República do Chile, 65 – 22nd floor - 20031-912 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ | Tel.: 55 (21) 3224-1510 / 9947 | 0800-282-1540
This document may contain forecasts that merely reflect the expectations of the Company’s management. Such terms as “anticipate”, “believe”, “expect”, “forecast”, “intend”, “plan”, “project”,“seek”, “should”, along with similar or analogous expressions, are used to identify such forecasts. These predictions evidently involve risks and uncertainties, whether foreseen or not by the Company. Therefore, the future results of operations may differ from current expectations, and readers must not base their expectations exclusively on the information presented herein.
PETRÓLEO BRASILEIRO S.A--PETROBRAS |
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By: |
/S/ Almir Guilherme Barbassa
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Almir Guilherme Barbassa
Chief Financial Officer and Investor Relations Officer |
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This press release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are statements that are not historical facts, and are based on management's current view and estimates offuture economic circumstances, industry conditions, company performance and financial results. The words "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "expects", "plans" and similar expressions, as they relate to the company, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Statements regarding the declaration or payment of dividends, the implementation of principal operating and financing strategies and capital expenditure plans, the direction of future operations and the factors or trends affecting financial condition, liquidity or results of operations are examples of forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of management and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. There is no guarantee that the expected events, trends or results will actually occur. The statements are based on many assumptions and factors, including general economic and market conditions, industry conditions, and operating factors. Any changes in such assumptions or factors could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.