Oil: Discovery of a massive new oil field off Brazil sparks joy and fury

AFP repoets the discovery of a massive new oil field off Brazil has triggered speculation the country will become a major world energy supplier of the 21st century.

The head of the country's National Oil Agency, Haroldo Lima, announced the field, in a site offshore from Rio de Janeiro known as Carioca, could contain 33 billion barrels of oil.

That is more oil than all the current proven reserves in Brazil (11.8 billion barrels) and the United States (21.8 billion barrels) combined, making it possibly "the biggest discovery in the last 30 years," Mr Lima said.

However, an irritated President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called the disclosure "improper" and hasty, according to the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper.

Mr Lula da Silva knew of the "high probability" the find was significant but was waiting for confirmation from Petrobras, the state-run oil company, before saying anything, it reported.

The oil company itself issued a statement smacking down Mr Lima's assertion.

Mike Hitchen, Mike Hitchen Consulting
Publisher of i On Global Trends and Sydney Irresistible