Stocks in Norwegian oilfield services companies were up Monday on news from Brazilian oil company Petrobras of $174.4 billion in oilfield spending over the next four years, a major boost over a previous forecast.

Some $34.9 billion are to be spent every year, 90 percent offshore Brazil, as first-time investments in the Santos Basin’s pre-salt reservoirs are made. The basin is the southern-most pre-salt play after Campos and Espirito Santo in the north.

The company said falling supplier costs created the chance to get more “bang for the buck”, forcing a re-think of the former four-year plan to 2012. Exploration will stand for the lion’s share of investments, or 70-30 versus downstream.

With $36.6 billion aimed at new projects, pre-salt comes in for about 76 percent of drilling and development spending. New projects are seen adding 2.7 million barrels of oil per day to the country's production, 3.9 MM bpd by 2020.

In all, Petrobras has grown its spending plan 55 percent, with E&P up 61 percent over past announcements that also drove oilfield service companies.

On Monday, Norwegian survey outfit Reservoir Exploration Technology was up 15.4 percent, leading local oilfield service companies in gains that included 8.6 percent (Nexus Floating Production), eight percent (rig owner Seadrill) and (6.5 percent) high-tech Kongsberg Gruppen.

Tags: Petrobras