Colombia expects boost in oil production

BOGOTA, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Colombia anticipates its 2009 oil production will be up about 10 percent, even as other oil-producers are expected to announce further price-bolstering cuts.

The financial daily Portafolio reported Wednesday that Colombia projects oil output of 650,000 to 700,000 barrels of oil per day this year. Last year, the South American country averaged 587,000 barrels daily.

Colombia's hydrocarbons regulator, Armando Zamora, says he doesn't foresee a sharp drop in investments in the industry.

Alejandro Martinez, president of the Colombian Petroleum Association, also said no sharp drop is expected because contracts have already been signed.

In Brazil, the state oil company Petrobras exported a record average of 620,000 barrels of crude per day in December.

"The new record was 46,000 barrels per day more than the previous one set in October 2008 and which totaled 574,000 barrels per day," Petrobras said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said his country and other members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are ready to scale back production to stabilize prices, the Latin American Herald Tribune reported.

"We'll make the reductions that have to be made and I'm telling that to the world," Chavez said Tuesday, adding other OPEC members "think the same."

"If it's necessary to cut another 2 million barrels of oil we'll do it (within OPEC) to preserve the price per barrel."

Venezuela was averaging nearly 3.2 million barrels a day at the end of December.