By Jeff Fick and Diana Kinch Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES RIO DE JANEIRO (Dow Jones)--The oil disaster in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico will force Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR, PETR4.BR), or Petrobras, to take a hard look at safety on its offshore rigs as the state-run energy giant works to avoid similar problems at home. "Petrobras will re-assess its entire safety program once BP releases a conclusive report on the accident in the Gulf of Mexico," Carlos Cunha Dias Henriques, who manages materials technology and corrosion at the federal oil company, told a conference in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday. Brazil is taking a closer look at the challenges of developing ultradeepwater oil fields after a well blowout caused an explosion and fire that sank Transocean's (RIG) Deepwater Horizon rig at BP PLC's (BP, BP.LN) Macondo field in the Gulf of Mexico. In Brazil, regulators have already started to look for shortcomings in local requirements. In May, Brazil's national petroleum agency, or ANP, ordered a review of safety procedures at oil companies drilling in Brazilian waters. The ANP requested information about well-control systems employed by the oil companies. The information will then be reviewed by the ANP, with some companies asked to re-evaluate their emergency plans and submit documentation of their ability to respond in case of emergency. U.S. regulators also granted permission for ANP officials to observe the investigation of the Gulf disaster. ANP Director Magda Chambriard and coordinator of safety operations Rafael Moura have visited Houston as observers in the investigation. Brazilian officials have been watching developments in the Gulf of Mexico closely. More than 85% of the country's crude oil is pumped from offshore fields in Brazil's Campos Basin. In addition, the country expects oil production to skyrocket in coming years as the so-called presalt oil fields enter operation. The presalt oil frontier is somewhat similar to the ultradeepwater Lower Tertiary region in the Gulf of Mexico. The presalt finds were made under a thick layer of salt in the Santos Basin off the coast of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro states. The oil lies under more than 2,000 meters of water and a further 5,000 meters under sand, rock and a shifting layer of salt. A recent accident at a Petrobras-drilled presalt well highlighted the technical challenges involved. Work on the Libra well, which was to tap an oil field that some ANP officials have said could hold more than 4.5 billion barrels of recoverable crude, was stopped July 13 after the well collapsed when the drill struck a salt bed deep underwater. Work on a second well is now under way about 375 meters from the first attempt. Petrobras officials previously said that they expect local regulators to tighten some domestic requirements. "We can expect some increase in regulations and more requirements in Brazil," Chief Executive Jose Sergio Gabrielli said in June. Brazil, however, already has stiffer safety requirements in place compared with the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Gabrielli said. Despite the challenges associated with deepwater drilling, the world's insatiable demand for crude means "presalt exploration the world over won't stop as a result of this accident," Henriques said. -By Jeff Fick and Diana Kinch, Dow Jones Newswires; 55-21-2586-6085; jeff.fick@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 28, 2010 16:13 ET (20:13 GMT)