Fortune Magazine Features Petrobras Profile
Posted on Fri, Mar 11, 2011
Fortune magazine published a company profile on Petrobras, Brazil's fast-growing energy company. Boosted by vast offshore discoveries, the Brazilian oil giant is on track to eclipse Exxon by the end of the decade.
The heart of Petrobras success lies in the pre-salt reserves off the coast of Brazil, which have been estimated at 50 billion to 100 billion barrels or more. According to Fortune, "it has been estimated that offshore oil and gas could be as much as a $1 trillion industry for Brazil over the next decade. And as political unrest in the Middle East drives up crude prices, the value of a stable new supply of oil from Brazil is magnified."
Last year Brazil's biggest corporation ranked No. 54 on Fortune's Global 500 list of the world's largest companies; in its most recent fiscal year revenues jumped 32% to $121 billion. Excluding wholly state-owned oil companies such as Saudi Aramco or NIOC of Iran, Petrobras is the fifth-largest oil company by production (2.15 million barrels a day in 2010) and the third-largest in market capitalization ($240 billion). By the end of the decade, Petrobras is likely to pass Exxon Mobil to become the largest publicly traded oil company in reserves and production. It also has the respect of its peers, coming in seventh in its category on this year's list of the Most Admired Companies.
Read the full article.