Repsol's shares soar on Brazilian oil find news 16/04/2008 00:00

The Spanish oil company closed up 9.28 percent after Brazilian government official reported of a huge oil find.

16 April 2008

MADRID - Repsol YPF's share price soared on Tuesday after a Brazilian government official said a consortium, in which the leading Spanish oil company holds a stake, had made a huge oil find off the coast of Brazil.

Repsol closed up 9.28 percent at EUR 25.68 after having been up as much as 14 percent at one point yesterday at EUR 26.75. The company's stock had risen Monday by over 17 percent overnight in New York.

The shares of Spanish builder Sacyr Vallehermoso, which holds a 20-percent stake in Repsol, climbed 12.20 percent to EUR 23.92 after an intraday high of EUR 24.76, a gain of 16 percent. Sacyr and Repso helped drive the Spanish blue-chip Ibex 35 higher, which closed up 1.89 percent at 13,408.90 points.

Haroldo Lima, the general director of Brazilian regulator National Oil Agency (ANP), said Monday the Carioca offshore oil field operated by state-owned oil company Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras) in the Santos Basin could hold reserves of 33 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

Lima said that "unofficial" information from Petrobras showed that the field would be the biggest discovery in over 30 years and the third-biggest oil field currently in existence. Brazil currently has about 12 billion barrels of reserves and if the Carioca find is confirmed, it would make the South American country the eighth biggest oil producer in the world.

Petrobras holds a 45-percent stake in the Carioca block, Repsol 25 percent and British Gas 30 percent.

In November 2007, Petrobras announced the discovery of recoverable light-grade oil and natural gas reserves at the adjacent Tupi Sul well, estimated to house between 5 and 8 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

In a statement released late Monday, Petrobras said it was still exploring the block. Ongoing exploratory activities, it said, include drilling new wells and new geological studies.

"More conclusive data on the discovery's potential will only be known after the other phases involved in the assessment process have been completed, and they will be announced to the market in a timely manner," the statement said.

In a research note, Citigroup said yesterday recoverable reserves from the Carioca field may be about EUR 10 billion barrels based on a recovery rate of 30 percent.

[El Pais / Adrian Soto / Expatica]