Size of Brazil Oil Discovery Unclear
The head of Brazil’s National Petroleum Agency, Harold Lima, is in hot water after saying Monday that a new offshore discovery could hold 33 billion gallons of oil, four times as much as the Tupi offshore discovery announced in November.
Shares of state-run Petrobras shot up more than 8 percent on the news and remained positive in Tuesday trading — closing up 92 cents at $123.10.
Petrobras says it informed the agency of a discovery, but did not mention how large the reserve might be.
Lima later acknowledged his comments were based on a February article in World Oil magazine.
Brazil’s stock market regulator said Lima’s comments were inappropriate and may have unduly influenced trading.
