Brazil's state-owned oil and gas giant Petrobras said Monday that it would contract to build 10 offshore oil production platforms in the coming eight years for a newly found pre-salt oil field.

    The 10 new units, to operate in ultra-deep waters, will tap the pre-salt oil reserves discovered recently off the country's southeastern coast.

    According to the company, the first two units will be chartered from third parties. Each will have a daily production capacity of 100,000 barrels of crude and 5 million cubic meters of natural gas.

    The units will be installed between 2013 and 2014.

    Petrobras will own the remaining eight units. Each able to produce daily 120,000 barrels of oil and 5 million cubic meters of natural gas, they are due to be in place between 2015 and 2016.

    Director of the oil company Petrobras Jose Sergio Gabrielli said Monday that the oil exploitation of pre-salt oil field meant huge technological, financial and social challenges.

    Petrobras confirmed on Sept. 10 the discovery of a huge oil and natural gas field in the pre-salt layer in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil.

    The company said the newly found oil field is located 230 km off the coast, and 2,230 meters underground.

    The field has a total thickness of 6,080 meters, and its recoverable reserves are expected to reach 3 billion to 4 billion barrels.