Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras says it intends to export more of its output to China to increase its share of the market there, Reuters reports.
The news agency quotes a statement issued by the company as saying growth in exports by Petrobras is speeding up and that China is their main market.
Petrobras says interest among Chinese refineries in buying oil direct from producers is growing, and that it will do more business with those refineries.
The report says Petrobras platforms at the Búzios field in the Santos basin are expected to start pumping pre-salt oil in the fourth quarter, and that the output from the Búzios field could grow to 750,000 barrels a day by 2021.
Demand in China for low-sulphur crude, such as Angolan and Brazilian oil, has jumped in the past two years because independent refiners there are now allowed to import crude, Reuters says.
