Brazilian Oil Story: From Brags to Glitches
Rumors and controversy swirl around latest oil field discovery.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, April 18, 2008 — -- Deep in the Atlantic Ocean, under a layer of salt, lies a massive oil field that could make Brazil a major player in global oil exports, speculators say.
This oil field has sent spirits and markets in Brazil soaring, only to end in bickering and criticism.
On Monday, remarks made by Haroldo Lima, the head of Brazil's national oil agency ANP, caused flutters of excitement when he revealed during a conference that the latest petroleum finding off the coast of Brazil -- the Carioca field -- could potentially contain up to 33 billion barrels of oil.
This would make it the third largest oil field in the world and turn Brazil into the seventh largest producer of oil.
The excitement that Lima caused was quickly tempered, however, by a sobering statement from Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras, which warned that so far no official figures had been presented to reveal the true volume of the Carioca field.
The brags to glitches strategy triggered a flood of criticism.
Questions were raised over whether this was a deliberate act to boost Brazilian markets and Petrobras' share price. The front page of one of Brazil's major newspapers even questioned whether the company could face legal consequences for making such comments without official figures to back up the hype.
There is also the question of ownership. Carioca is not solely owned by Petrobras. European energy companies Repsol and BG both own stakes in the field and the remarks caused ripples on major stock exchanges in Sao Paulo, Madrid and even New York.
Much has already been made of the Carioca find. Earlier this year, journals published in Houston and Sao Paulo also referred to Carioca's enormous potential but without proof it remains just that, potential.
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