Brazil Petrobras June Total Gas, Oil Output At 2.641 Million BOE/Day

RIO DE JANEIRO -(Dow Jones)- Brazilian state-run energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR, PETR4.BR), or Petrobras, said late Friday that total crude oil and natural gas production rose in June as several offshore platforms came back onstream after maintenance outages.

Petrobras produced an average of 2.641 million barrels of oil equivalent, or BOE, per day in June, up 2.1% from 2.586 million BOE per day in May. The company’s domestic crude oil output was 2.2% higher month-on-month in June at an average of 2.047 million barrels a day, up from 2.003 million barrels a day in May.

The jump in output was attributed to returning production at offshore platforms in the Campos Basin, where more than 85% of Brazil’s offshore crude is produced, Petrobras said. The company had embarked on a heavy round of maintenance work at its offshore platforms in the first half of 2011.

An additional well was also connected to the P-57 platform at the Jubarte field in the basin, while a long-term well test at the Aruana field also commenced during the month, Petrobras said.

Natural gas production, meanwhile, also advanced in June, Petrobras said. The federal oil company produced a daily average of 74.5 million cubic meters of natural gas at home and abroad. That was up from 72.8 million cubic meters in May

-By Jeff Fick, Dow Jones Newswires