Thursday 2 December 2010

Brazil changes oil sector law for offshore fields


Brazilian Congress has made certain amendments to its oil sector law, which could potentially increase the country's development of its offshore oil fields. The bill stipulates that state-owned company Petrobras will have a 30 per cent stake in all new offshore exploration ventures within Brazil.

President-elect Dilma Rousseff championed the new legislation while working as the energy minister in the outgoing government. The oil fields off the coast of Rio de Janeiro are estimate to contain more than 50 billion barrels of oil, buried approximately 7km beneath a layer of salt.

Petrobras has years of expertise in deep-water drilling as most of its ventures are located in the south Atlantic Ocean. Brazil's offshore oil fields might prove a lucrative venture for IOCs and foreign investors.

Source: BBC News

For more news and expert analysis about Brazil, please see Brazil Focus.

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