Brazil expects more pre-salt drilling

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- General Electric Co. announced it was selected to supply technology to an offshore drilling company eyeing pre-salt reserves off the coast of Brazil.

Keppel Offshore and Marine Ltd. picked GE's Power Conversion division to supply power and drive technology for six semisubmersible drilling rigs designated for offshore Brazil.

GE said it expected the first rig under the contract to go into service by the end of 2015. It's expected that deep-water exploration will support the exploration of the 50 billion barrels of oil below submarine salt layers in the South Atlantic Ocean.

The company said its equipment would be delivered to the contractor starting this year.

During the summer, British energy company BG Group approved contracts worth $4.5 billion for construction proposals for offshore storage units in Brazil's Santos Basin.

An estimated 50 billion barrels of oil lies off Brazil's coast, a volume that's expected to put the Latin American country on par with some of the world's top oil producers.