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Brazil Discovers Huge Offshore Oil Field

Find could make country major exporter but will be expensive to drill

By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 9, 2007 10:05 AM CST

(Newser) – A huge offshore oil field found off the coast of Rio de Janeiro has the potential to make Brazil one of the world's top oil exporters, the AP reports. The Tupi field could hold 8 billion barrels, but it's very deep and will be difficult and expensive to drill. The state oil company Petrobras says full-scale extraction is unlikely to begin until 2013.

Brazil became a net exporter of oil only last year. The oil at Tupi field lies under 7,000 feet of water, 10,000 feet of sand and rocks, and nearly 7,000 feet of salt. An analyst says the find has implications beyond Brazil. "It has established an aura of optimism for massive future exploration success," he says.

The oil field is located off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.
The oil field is located off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.   (Getty Images)
The president of Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras, Jose Sergio Gabrielli, speaks with press at the Presidential Palace in Brasilia, Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2007.  (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
The president of Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras, Jose Sergio Gabrielli, speaks with press at the Presidential Palace in Brasilia, Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2007. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)   (Associated Press)
In this undated file photo provided  by Mexico's national oil company, Pemex, on June 13, 2006, an offshore oil installation is seen in the gulf of Mexico near the coast of Campeche, Mexico. Petrobras plans to start pumping from the Tupi Field in 2010 or 2011. (AP Photo/Pemex)
In this undated file photo provided by Mexico's national oil company, Pemex, on June 13, 2006, an offshore oil installation is seen in the gulf of Mexico near the coast of Campeche, Mexico. Petrobras...   (Associated Press)
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