Press Release 13 November 2007

BRAZIL'S PETROBRAS SAYS OFF SHORE RESERVES
COULD BE FAR HIGHER

Roma, 13 November 2007 - Petrobras President and Chief Executive, José Sergio Gabrielli de Azevedo, told journalists at Tuesday's World Energy Congress that his company has "high confidence" that its recent oil discovery in Brazil contains between 5-8 billion barrels of recoverable oil.

Asked at the briefing whether other basins in the same area as the Tupi Field - the site of the discovery - could contain further oil reserves, the head of Petrobras said: "Yes there could be much more."

Last week, Petrobras announced that the Tupi Field, 280 kilometers off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, may hold up to 8 billion barrels of oil equivalent, which is trapped below a thick layer of salt.

Gabrielli de Azevedo said that production on the Tupi Field could begin in 2010 or 2011 as the company aims to increase overall production to 4.5 million barrels a day of oil and gas equivalent by 2015.

He said that the Brazilian Government's decision to hold back certain concessions - around 41 - from the next stage of the bidding process for the Tupi Field was "a country decision" and not a company decision.

"The main challenges ahead at Tupi will be stabilization of the oil casing (the salt) and the thickness of the rock," he said.

On oil prices, the Brazilian energy leader said: "There is tightness in supply and demand and other factors causing volatility such as: speculation on the capital markets, weakness of the US dollar and very large restrictions on the refining side. Prices will stay high and volatile in the short-term."

WEC Media contact:
Mathias Hocke: hocke@worldenergy.org
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7734 5996
Stephan Albrechtskirchinger: albrechtskirchinger@worldenergy.org
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7734 5996