Videocon Industries, an oil explorer with stakes in Australian, Omani and Indonesian fields, said its unit has made a so-called pre-salt hydrocarbon discovery in a field in Brazil's Campos Basin.

The explorer will confirm the size of the find in three months after "all studies" are done, Chairman Venugopal Dhoot said in a phone interview from Mumbai today. VB Brazil Petroleo, Videocon's joint venture with Bharat Petroleum Corp, the country's second-biggest refiner, owns 25 per cent of the field. Videocon, which also makes consumer electronics, plans to expand its petroleum exploration business to take advantage of high oil prices, Dhoot said in August. The company bought a 10 per cent stake in an exploration area in Mozambique that month and is planning to invest in fields in Qatar and Kuwait.

The discovery is in an area known as Block BM-C-30 and is located at a water depth of about 4,650 feet (1,417 meters), Anadarko said in a statement posted on its website on September 30. The field operator has drilled to 18,400 feet and aims to reach 20,000 feet.

Pre-salt fields

The so-called pre-salt fields are oil reserves below a layer of salt. These reservoirs are beneath as much as 3,000 meters of water and 7,000 meters of seabed. Wahoo is part of a pre-salt region that runs 800 kilometers (500 miles) along Brazil's coast from Santa Catarina to Espirito Santo states. The pre-salt belt is believed to hold as much as 70 billion barrels of crude oil, according to Dhoot.

In India, Videocon owns 25 per cent of the Ravva field in the Krishna Godavari basin off the country's east coast.

Oil & Natural Gas Corp, the country's biggest explorer, has a 40 per cent share in the area, which produces 18 million barrels of oil and 1 billion cubic meters of gas a year, according to Videocon's website.

Videocon shares surged 12 per cent to Rs 219.5, the most since May 20.

New Ipad Application :Business Standard's all new IPad App Click here to download for free Other Stories      - Markets post worst May performace since 2006 - Kavveri Telecom Q4 net declines over 6% - Wall Street opens flat on economy worries - RIM to set up first BlackBerry innovation zone in India - Rajaratnam bragged about sources of inside info: Gupta lawyers

Read Business news in  Advertisements -  "Discover The Power of One" -  Help a Child Achieve her. Click to know more -  Benefits Upto Rs. 2.36 Lakhs on the Fully Loaded TJet Petrol. -  Watch The Film Here. Click here to know more.. -  1 billion in saving for Unilever without any tangles. -  A Brand New Server at a Price That Fits Your Budget. Click here -  One Partnership Endless Possibilities. Click here to know more -  Which is the best plan for your daughter -  Check out the TRUE COLOURS of your Stocks, Now for FREE! -  One of the leading business schools in the world.Know More