Petrobras’ latest oil find transforms Brazil’s upstream prospects By Tom Nicholls, journalist Brazil’s Petrobras claims to have discovered a new oil province – “comparable to the most important oil provinces in the world”. It says the discovery – called the Tupi accumulation – may boost Brazil’s current 14bn barrel oil and gas reserves by more than 50%. But even though this represents huge upside for Brazil’s oil reserves, Tupi represents just a “small part” of the new frontier, Petrobras claims. The news is a massive boost not just for the partners in the project but for the prospects for other oil companies operating offshore Brazil.