The pre-salt layer oil fields located in the Santos Basin in southeastern Brazil can produce up to 120 million cubic meters of natural gas daily, said Marco Tavares, managing director of Brazil's Gas Energy consulting firm, on Tuesday.

    During the Rio Oil and Gas Conference, which started on Monday, Tavares said that the volume is far enough to meet the country's need which stands at 60 million cubic meters daily.

    Tavares said that even if 40 to 50 million cubic meters of natural gas were reinjected in the wells (to increase their pressure and efficiency), there would be more gas than the country consumes.

    According to Tavares, the most practical solution to tap the natural gas from the Santos Basin would be through ships rather than through pipelines.

    "About 70 percent of the country's energy consumption is concentrated in the coast. Sea transportation is more adequate. In a continental country, building pipelines is not worth the effort, " Tavares said.

    He added that the ships would allow Brazil's natural gas to be exported to neighboring countries such as Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina.