Brazil: pre-salt outlook

Less than 10 years ago, at the height of the commodities boom, Brazil was assured a place as an oil world powerhouse, following the discovery of oil in its subsalt basins. Much faith has been put in Brazil delivering the barrels needed to keep the medium-term oil market in reasonable balance. This optimism had been brought to the forefront of the global oil and gas industries by the 2007/8 discovery of the vast pre-salt basins, specifically the Tupi field. This ranks alongside Kashagan as one of the largest and most significant oil discoveries of the past few decades. However, as has often been the case in recent history of the oil markets, a number of project delays and cost overruns have since taken the shine off the initial optimism