Money talking: Edison Lobao
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Brazil sees $270bn pre-salt spend
Brazil needs $270 billion in investment over the next 10 years to develop its massive pre-salt reserves, Energy Minister Edison Lobao said today.
The massive Tupi find, as well as a strong of others in the country's pre-salt fairway, could make Brazil among the world's largest oil producers, but the country needs huge investment to develop the new finds.
"We need $270 billion and that will be just for 10 years," Reuters quoted Lobao saying at an Opec seminar.
The money would come from state-run giant Petrobras' own resources, from partnerships with big international oil companies and from development banks, he said.
Falling oil demand, lower prices and tight credit have cast doubt over Brazil's oilfield development plans.
Deep-water oilfields are among the most expensive projects and were among the first to feel cutbacks as the oil industry adapted to a lower price environment. US crude has fallen around $100 a barrel from a peak last July.
The billions of barrels of reserves lie an estimated 7 kilometres below sea level.
Brazil announced the discovery of the Tupi field in late 2007 and has since found other deepwater discoveries. Tupi holds an estimated 5 billion to 8 billion barrels.