Brazil finds massive oil field

A newly-tapped oil field off the coast of Brazil could
contain up to 15 billion barrels of oil, officials say.
Brazil's national petroleum agency said the Libra field
most probably held around 8 billion barrels.

That matches the size of the giant Tupi oil field, whose
discovery in 2007 drew attention to Brazil's potential
as a major oil producer. If the 15 billion barrel figure
were confirmed it would double Brazil's known oil reserves.

It would also be the biggest oil field discovered in the
Americas since 1976, when Mexico found the giant Cantarell
field in the Gulf of Mexico. The Libra exploratory well is
located 183km (114 miles) offshore from Rio de Janeiro.

"The volume of recoverable oil belonging to the nation
could vary from 3.7 billion to 15 billion barrels, with
the most likely estimate being 7.9 billion barrels,"
the national petroleum agency (ANP) said in a statement.

Brazil has discovered billions of barrels of oil in the
last few years, mostly in deep, pre salt fields off its
south-eastern coast. The discoveries should make Brazil
one of the world's top 10 oil producers.

Outgoing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said
future oil revenues will be used to eradicate poverty
and invest in education and technology. In September
the Brazilian oil company Petrobras, which is partly
owned by the state, raised $70bn (£44.7bn) to develop
the new fields in the world's largest ever public
share offering.