Petrobras (PBR)

Production startup in the Pre-Salt Layer

(Rio de Janeiro September 1, 2008). – PETRÓLEO BRASILEIRO S/A - PETROBRAS, [Bovespa: PETR3/PETR4, NYSE: PBR/PBRA, Latibex: XPBR/XPBRA, BCBA: APBR/APBRA], a Brazilian international energy company, announces that it kicked-off the production of the first oil in the pre-salt layer, in the Jubarte field, in the Campos Basin, off the southern coast of Espírito Santo State today. The first well’s production potential is 18,000 barrels/day, and the main purpose of developing it is to obtain knowledge that will help the Company develop the pre-salt reserves located in Espírito Santo and in other places off the Brazilian coast.

The characteristics of the light pre-salt oil (30° API) required investments of nearly $50 million in adapting the platform’s process plant, in the completion of well 1-ESS-103A, and in interconnecting the well to FPSO JK (P-34). Production begins with Long Duration Test (LDT) to observe how pre-salt oil behaves, both in the reservoir and in the platform’s process plant. The LDT is expected to last six months to a year.

FPSO JK (P-34) has been producing oil in the Jubarte field since December 2006, in a reservoir located above the salt layer. The fact this platform is only 2.5 km away from the 1-ESS-103A exploratory well, which discovered the oil in the pre-salt, below the Jubarte Field, 1,375 meters below the water line, allowed production in the pre-salt layer in Espírito Santo to be anticipated.

In the past couple of years, Petrobras invested approximately R$1.7 billion in drilling 15 wells that reached the pre-salt layers. Eight of them have already been tested and show the presence of high commercial value light oil and of a large amount of associated natural gas. They have not been declared commercial yet, as they are still under assessment.

www.petrobras.com.br/ri/english
Contacts: PETRÓLEO BRASILEIRO S. A. – PETROBRAS
Investor Relations Department I E-mail: petroinvest@petrobras.com.br / acionistas@petrobras.com.br
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