BRAZIL COMPUTER CONTAINING VALUABLE CORPORATE DATA STOLEN FROM STATE OIL COMPANY Brazil Petrobras: important reserves data stolen | Industries | Energy | Reuters

Brazil Petrobras: important reserves data stolen

SAO PAULO, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Brazil's state oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA: Quote, Profile, Research)(PBR.N: Quote, Profile, Research), said Thursday that computers containing "important information" of oil and gas field research off the Brazilian coast were stolen.

"There was a theft of equipment that contained important information for the company," Petrobras confirmed by phone. "The event is under investigation."

The company said it has copies of the stolen data but did not specify the nature of the data.

The transport of the data equipment was under the charge of third-party company, whose name was not disclosed.

The state-run company would not comment on reports from the local media that the computers kept secret information on the company's oil and gas reserves in the highly prolific, subsalt cluster, where the giant Tupi field is located.

The subsalt cluster has aroused strong interest from the oil industry after Petrobras said, in late 2007, it had recoverable reserves at between 5 billion and 8 billion barrels of light crude in the Tupi field and in-place reserves of up to 20 billion barrels. [ID:nN23604539]

To see a factbox on the Tupi click on [ID:nN13212936] (Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira, Translated by Inae Riveras; Editing by John Picinich)