Brazil's hydrocarbons regulator ANP expects total reserves in pre-salt areas already put out to tender by the government to reach 80Bboe of recoverable oil and gas.
"Initially, with the discovery of Tupi, there were estimates at 5B-8Bb of recoverable oil and gas," ANP managing director Haroldo Lima said at an event in Rio de Janeiro.
"Then with the discovery of new fields, that number evolved to the 12B-70Bb range. The new forecasts point to a minimum of 50Bb and a maximum of 80Bb," he added.
ANP has tendered so far 42% of exploratory blocks in the pre-salt cluster. Tupi represents close to 10% of the total area.
Questioned if the reserves could top 100Bboe including the areas that have yet to be offered, Lima was optimistic.
"Yes, they could. The dimensions are so huge we have yet to measure the full importance of the pre-salt discovery to Brazil," he said.
The ANP director was the center of controversy back in April when he said federal energy company Petrobras' (NYSE: PBR) discovery of the Carioca oil and gas field in the Santos basin could be the world's third largest at 33Bboe.
PRE-SALT INVESTMENTS
ANP believes the pre-salt layer will require investment of US$70bn to develop just one field.
"Taking into account our experience in the Marlim field, we expect Tupi will have 500 wells drilled and eight big platforms to operate in an approximately 5,000km2 area," Lima said.
The watchdog does not expect the financial crisis will affect the pre-salt investments.
"Some are talking about an investment of US$400bn. I don't know how long the crisis will last, but the pre-salt strategic plan was made considering a horizon of 10 years," according to Lima.
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