Huge new oil discovery in Brazil

Heavy oil. ~ Janice

<http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1548456/posts>Huge
new oil discovery in Brazil
<http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1548456//^http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4563896.stm>BBC
^ | 28 December 2005 | BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4563896.stm
Posted on 12/28/2005 9:38:29 PM EST by
<http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1548456//~george76/>george76
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1548456/posts

Brazil's state-owned oil company, Petrobras, says
it has discovered a huge new offshore oil field
off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state.

The Papa-Terra field was found in the Campos
Basin, which is already Brazil's most important oil-producing region.

Petrobras estimates it contains at least 700
million barrels of crude - about 10% of Brazil's current reserves.

The field, which is jointly operated with the US
company Chevron, should start producing oil by the end of 2011.

Petrobras said the oil from the Papa-Terra field
was heavier than the sweet light crude favoured
by international markets, but the firm was
investing $2bn in adapting its refineries to process heavy oil.

New advances

The new field is expected to help Petrobras
achieve its goal of making Brazil self-sufficient
in oil. Since 2003, the company has been meeting 91% of the country's needs.

The Campos Basin region already contains 40 other
offshore oil fields producing more than 1.1
million barrels a day, amounting to more than 60% of Brazil's production.

Last month, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula
da Silva inaugurated the country's largest oil
platform, named P-50, which is due to begin
production in the basin's Albacoara Leste field early next year.

According to industry analysts, 75% of Brazil's
oil reserves are under at least 400m of water.

As a result, Petrobras has built up expertise in
deep-water drilling and operates the largest
number of floating platforms in the world.

Chevron's local subsidiary will hold a 37.5% stake in the Papa-Terra field.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/4563896.stm

Published: 2005/12/28 12:12:21 GMT

© BBC MMV
Received on Wed Dec 28 22:12:48 2005