RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's state-owned oil and gas company Petrobras announced Tuesday that investments will total 112.4 billion U.S. dollars in the 2008-2012 period, up 28 percent from 87.4 billion dollars foreseen in its 2007-2011 plan.

    Of that amount, the company said that 97.4 billion dollars willbe invested in projects in Brazil, and the remaining 15 billion dollars will go to projects abroad, especially in Latin America, the Gulf of Mexico and West Africa.

    According to its revised plan, Petrobras expects a 32 percent rise in its investments in oil and gas exploitation and production in Brazil, as well as 30 percent growth in investments in the petrochemical sector, in the period of 2008-2012.

    In a press statement, the company expected its oil and gas production to reach the equivalent of 3.49 million barrels of oil per day (BOED) by 2012.

    Petrobras added that the total amount of investments will include 13.3 billion dollars for new projects, 10.9 billion dollars to cover a rise in costs in the equipment and services markets, and 4.2 billion dollars to reduce the impact on the valuation of the local currency the real against the U.S. dollar.

    On Monday, Petrobras announced a two-percent net profit fall in 2007 compared with 2006, which the company's Financial Director Almir Barbassa attributed to the U.S. dollar devaluation, the rise in costs in the oil and gas industry and the fall in the international price of the commodity.