BRASILIA, Jan 15 (Commodity Online): Brazil is chalking out plans to build a multi-billion-dollar underwater base to guard its offshore hydrocarbon resources and to explore farther into the sea for minerals under the seabed.
A string of commercially viable finds of oil and gas deposits on the high seas have given impetus to government plans to exploit the sea within and beyond the country's territorial waters.
Various plans for making the most of offshore hydrocarbon resources are in place and most plans involve close collaboration between the government, the state-run hydrocarbons industry and the defense establishment.
Plans for an underwater "lab" or "platform" involve the government and the Brazilian navy, both of which are interested in setting up a marine outpost on the edge of Brazil's territorial waters, allowing deeper access to the sea.
The idea is to place an oceanographic lab at Brazil´s most remote maritime frontier to have a continuous presence and dominate an area in which hidden natural riches go beyond the pre-salt layers, the Marine Technology Reporter said.
At the edge of the continental platform, around 350 nautical miles from the coast, the potential for mineral reserves under the seabed is considered to be very high, said the magazine.
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