Brazil May Have 70 Billion Barrels of Oil Near Tupi, Bueno Says

By Jeb Blount and Juan Pablo Spinetto

Sept. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Brazil has between 30 billion and 70 billion barrels of oil in its so-called ``pre-salt'' fields near the Tupi discovery off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state, Julio Bueno, the state's economic affairs secretary, said.

The estimate is for fields already discovered by Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Brazil's state-controlled oil company, BG Plc and other companies in the Santos Basin, Bueno said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in London.

``We think that in the areas that Petrobras and other companies have already discovered we have 30 billion to 70 billion,'' Bueno, a former Petrobras executive, said. ``It's not an easy task to say how much you have, but it's a good amount to think about.''

To contact the reporters on this story: Jeb Blount in Rio de Janeiro at jblount@bloomberg.netJuan Pablo Spinetto in London at jspinetto@bloomberg.net