Petrobras Likely to Miss 2011 Production Targets on Increased Safety Regulations, Concerns, CEO Says

Brazilian oil major Petroleo Brasileiro, or Petrobras, will not be meeting its daily production target this year, said the company's chief executive in Qatar Wednesday, citing increased safety regulations and concerns in Brazil, Bloomberg reported the same day.

The company will likely miss its production target of 2.1 million barrels of oil per day, Petrobras' CEO Jose Sergio Gabrielli told reporters in Qatar during the World Petroleum Congress in Doha, according to the Bloomberg report. Production will be delayed because of unscheduled maintenance and safety checks which require stoppages in oil production.

The Brazilian oil industry has been under scrutiny following a recent, and reportedly minor, oil leak caused by Chevron Corp. in early November.

Brazil is actively seeking to develop its large off-shore oil resources which are in extremely deep sections of the South Atlantic. Located roughly four miles below the surface of the water and under a layer of salt, the oil field presents a distinctive challenge to oil companies seeking to tap the hydrocarbon pocket.

However, the Brazilian company's production is poised to rise in the next several years as it readies $200 billion in investment in the pre-salt formations, reported Forbes in August last year.

Estimates place the number of recoverable barrels of oil in the region at close to 110 billion barrels, and they are located roughly 150 miles offshore, reported Forbes.

Petrobras, by year 2020, expects to increase its oil production to 2.3 million barrels per day, according to the company's website.

Request for further comment from Petrobras went unanswered by press time.