More bounty

OF ALL the commodities Brazil exports, oil has long been an afterthought. Its oil reserves were reckoned to be relatively modest: about 12 billion barrels at the beginning of 2007, according to BP, or about 1% of the world's total. But last year, Petrobras, Brazil's partly state-owned oil firm, announced the world's biggest oil discovery since 2000: the Tupi field, which it hopes will produce between 5 billion and 8 billion barrels. Now the head of Brazil's National Petroleum Agency (ANP) says another nearby discovery might hold as much as 33 billion barrels, which would make it the third-largest field ever found. That alone would be enough to raise Brazil to eighth position in the global oil rankings—if these estimates are correct.

The ANP, which regulates Brazil's oil industry, was quick to distance itself from the remarks of its boss, Haroldo Lima. He spoke personally, not officially, it said, and reflected past reports in the media. Petrobras and its partners, BG of Britain and Repsol-YPF of Spain, said that they needed more tests to determine exactly how much oil it contained.