The next oil giant?

Brazil’s oil industry has big hurdles to clear

In the past two years Brazil has discovered the largest oil deposits in the country’s history and the world


The Tupi discovery was followed by other large finds, including Sugar Loaf, to the south-west of Tupi, in December 2007, and the Jupiter natural-gas field, located east of Tupi, in January 2008. The three fields constitute the largest hydrocarbons discoveries in the cluster area of the Santos Basin. The government estimates reserves at Sugar Loaf could be even larger than those of Tupi, at around 33bn boe, and that the Jupiter field could have “similar dimensions” to Tupi. Other discoveries in the area include Parati, Bem te-vi, Carioca, Iara, Tupi Sul and Iati.

The president of the Agencia Nacional de Petroleo (ANP, the industry regulating agency) puts total potential reserves in the Santos Basin at 80bn boe. If the new discoveries are found to be commercially viable, Brazil could become one of the world’s major oil-producing and exporting countries.

The Economist