Petroleos Brasileros (Petrobras) will increase its overseas investment to 1.4 billion US dollars in 2006, 40 percent up from that of 2005, the state-owned Brazilian oil firm announced Monday.

For the period between 2006 and 2010, its total overseas investment will reach 7.1 billion dollars, or some 13 percent of its overall investment, Petrobras said in a statement.

Some 1.4 billion dollars will go to Africa and another 1.4 billion to the United States, according to Nestor Cervero, director of Petrobras's international department.

The new investments are part of Petrobras's broader strategy to more than double its production to 545,000 bpd by 2010 from 263,000 bpd at present.

In South America, the statement said, Bolivia, Venezuela and Argentina are considered areas of priority.

Petrobras already has an agreement with state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela. In Argentina, it supplies 14.7 percent of the fuel market while in Bolivia, it controls 63 percent of the lubricant market, 25 percent of the fuel market and 98 percent of the refining market.

Petrobras has projects in every major country in South America except Chile, Guyana and Suriname. Last week, it opened its first representative office in Chile, similar to what it has in China and Japan.

Source: Xinhua