A deep-water discovery could make as much as 33 billion barrels of oil, an amount that would nearly triple Brazil's reserves and make the offshore bloc the world's third-largest known oil reserve, a top energy official said Monday
A deep-water discovery could make as much as 33 billion barrels of oil, an amount that would nearly triple Brazil's reserves and make the offshore bloc the world's third-largest known oil reserve, a top energy official said Monday.
National Petroleum Agency President Haroldo Lima notified that the information on the field off the coast of Rio de Janeiro is unofficial and needs to be confirmed — but his comments sent shares of state-run oil company Petrobras soaring in New York and Sao Paulo.
Petrobras said in a statement that more studies are needed to determine the potential of what could be the planet's largest oil find in decades. Analysts said the magnitude of the find, if confirmed, could have far-reaching global energy ramifications.
Petrobras' American depository shares closed up 8.3 percent in New York, or US$9.33 (euro5.88) to US$122.18 (euro76.99).
The company's shares went on a wild ride on Sao Paulo's Bovespa exchange, fluctuating between 2 percent and 7 percent higher and settling up 4.8 percent while the benchmark Ibovespa index fell 0.7 percent.
