RIO DE JANEIRO, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The output of Brazil's largest oil field Libra, discovered in 2010, is estimated to surpass 1 million barrels of oil per day, Brazil's National Petroleum Agency (ANP) said on Friday.
"Libra will have production peaks of 1 million barrels a day, to say the least," said Magda Chambriard, president of the ANP.
The field, located some 180 kilometers off the coast of Rio de Janeiro,will have 12 to 18 operating platforms, each with an estimated production of 150,000 barrels per day, she said.
The ANA believed that Libra holds between 26 billion and 42 billion barrels of crude, the country's largest find, while Chambriard said that its recoverable reserves stand between 8 billion barrels and 12 billion barrels.
The field will be submitted to a public bidding process, which will grant exploration rights in the field for a 35-year period, not renewable. The bidding will take place on Oct. 21 in Rio de Janeiro.
The company to win the auction will have to cooperate with Brazil's oil giant Petrobras, as well as Petrosal, a new state-owned company created for operating the pre-salt fields.
Brazil currently consumes some 800 million barrels of crude a year, according to the ANP. The Libra field alone has enough oil to satisfy the country's current consumption rate for 12 years, ANP officials said.
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