Petrobras Chief: Oil Price to Impact Ethanol Increase Plans

WASHINGTON - Brazil state oil company Petrobras plans to increase it's in ethanol production, but the oil price will define how fast ethanol gains importance, Petrobas President Gracas Silva Foster said Monday.

"We are planning to grow in our ethanol production, and I believe in five years we can be the number one," Foster said.

However, "the oil price will define the time for ethanol, since a lot of investment is necessary to produce ethanol," Foster said at a conference on Brazil-U.S. Partnership for the 21st century on the sidelines of President Dilma Rousseff's official visit.

Foster said ethanol complements other fuels like gasoline or diesel and therefore "it is important to analyze ethanol in a material and economic way."

"The best for us is to have this combination between ethanol and gasoline," she, said and stressed that the development depends on the oil and the sugar price.

Foster said Petrobras plans to invest $224.7 billion from 2011 until 2015.

"We have a very hard agenda, in order to make it possible to produce this oil in a very competitive way. It's necessary to change and adapt the plan all the time, "she said.

source: mninews.deutsche-boerse