Offshore gas and oil reserves announced in Brazil

Photo: Offshore gas and oil reserves announced in Brazil

New natural gas and light oil reserves were discovered by Brazil ’s state oil company off its southeastern coast.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA gave no estimates of reserves in the new find, but said in a statement late Thursday that the discovery confirmed the "high potential" for oil and gas in the Espirito Santo basin.

Petrobras said the well drilled at a depth of 708 meters (2,322 feet) from the water's surface encountered natural gas at a depth of 3,417 meters (11,210 feet).

In addition to the gas, the well also detected light oil in shallower reservoirs, at a depth of 2,461 meters (8,074 feet), the statement added.

As a result of the find, Petrobras shares surged 4.33 percent to 84.14 reals (US$47.73, EUR32.69) in early trading on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange

The announcement comes one month after Petrobras disclosed the discovery of as much as 8 billion barrels of light crude in an ultra-deep field off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, an amount that could help transform the country into a major world oil exporter.