Brazil's state-run oil firm Petrobras will create a subsidiary to run its growing operations in biofuels, including biodiesel and ethanol, the company said.

The new subsidiary will coordinate biofuel investments that currently are run by various units of the company, which complicates management, Petrobras said in a statement late Monday.

The unit will deal with ethanol and biodiesel production, although sale and logistics will be handled by the company's supply division, Petrobras said.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA aims to become the leader of biodiesel production in Brazil, expand its ethanol business and sell biofuel on a global scale.

Many Brazilian cars run on pure alcohol fuel made from sugar cane or on gasolene mixed with ethanol.

Brazil is the planet's largest ethanol exporter.

Petrobras also plans to raise oil output with four new oil platforms that will come on line this year, with a combined capacity to produce nearly half a million barrels a day, Chief Financial Officer Almir Barbassa said Tuesday.

New rigs

The new rigs include the P-51 platform at the Marlim Sul field in the Campos Basin and the P-53 at the Marlim Leste field. Each will have the capacity to produce 180,000 barrels of oil a day and six million cubic metres of gas daily.

In December, Petrobras expects its Cidade de Niteroi platform to come on stream at the Jabuti field, with daily capacity to produce 100,000 barrels of oil and 3.5 million cubic metres of gas.

In the same month, the company plans to bring its 35,000-barrel-a-day Cidade de Sao Mateus platform on stream at the Camarupim field, with capacity to pump 10 million cubic metres of natural gas a day.

- AP