Brazil Navy plans maneuvers to defend new oil find

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil’s armed forces will hold maneuvers next month to show they are capable of defending new offshore oil reserves that could convert the country into a global energy player, a senior official said Friday.

The state-owned oil company Petrobras made headlines last November when it discovered a deposit with estimated reserves of 5 to 8 billion barrels, the world’s second-biggest discovery in 20 years. The find could make Brazil one of the top 10 producers in the world, Petrobras said.


Since then some nationalist politicians and officers have raised concerns that other countries could possibly challenge Brazil’s sovereignty over the reserves.

“We don’t have a likely challenger or enemy. Within a modern view of planning, you send a signal to the international community — I am prepared,” Admiral Edlander Santos, who will command the maneuvers, told Reuters.

“It’s an important sign because it prevents people from turning into possible challengers,” Santos said in a telephone interview.

Reuters