Brazil discovers huge new oil reserves

Brazil has discovered huge new petroleum reserves in its south that could turn the country into one of the biggest oil producers in the world, the government and its state-controlled oil company announced last Thursday.

If one of the deposits turns out to be as vast as it appears, Brazil will be in the same league "as the Arab countries, Venezuela and others. Exploration of its Tupi field, offshore Sao Paulo state, revealed it could produce up to eight billion barrels of light oil and natural gas.

The discoveries are a significant fillip for Brazil, coming at a time that the price of oil is sitting at a record high and heading towards 100 dollars per barrel. But he noted that the Tupi field, 250 kilometres (155 miles) offshore, lies in very deep water, which will make extraction "very expensive."