Brazil's state-run oil giant Petrobras said on Tuesday it plans to increase oil and gas production by 7.8 percent to 3.49 million barrels per day by 2011.

The increase includes both domestic production, mostly centered on offshore fields, and production abroad, said Jose Sergio Gabrielli, the company's president, while announcing the Business Plan for the 2007-2011 period.

Gabrielli also said Petrobras' refining capacity in Brazil and abroad will grow to 3.2 million barrels per day by 2011 from the current 2.2 million per day.

The company will be able to increase its refining capacity thanks to the construction of two new refineries in the states of Rio de Janeiro and Pernambuco and the purchase of a new refinery abroad, Gabrielli said.

Petrobras will invest 87.1 billion U.S. dollars in the 2007-2011 period, which is required for Brazil to remain self-sufficient in oil and gas consumption, Gabrielli said.

Petrobras must raise production to meet rising demand for energy at home, he said.

Source: Xinhua