Brazil Will Play Military War Game to Defend Recently Discovered Offshore Oil

Brazil’s government is pushing hard to position Brazil high on the list of the world’s leading energy providers. In addition to being one of the world’s principal ethanol producers, Brazil is also funding research for biofuels, planning to build new hydro and thermoelectric dams, and will now be drilling for oil in recently discovered reserves that are located off of Brazil’s coast. This is reported to be the 2nd largest oil deposit discovered worldwide in the past 20 years.

Brazil, nonetheless, does not feel entirely sure that other countries in the world will not stake claim to this newly found oil as well. For this reason, they have chosen to stage a military war game of sorts, to intimidate other countries from making a play for the oil. The planned exercise will involve 20 ships, 9,000 troops, and up to fifty aircraft.

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Think this sounds crazy? Believe it or not, Brazil’s government obviously doesn’t and thinks the estimated $12.3 million it will spend on this show of military might is, in fact, an incredibly shrewd investment.

Edlander Santos, the Admiral who will be in charge of the military exercise, deflected criticism of the operation by saying that “It’s like house insurance. The cost is cheap compared to the need to protect our sovereignty.”

The simulated war exercises are scheduled to take place between September 12th-26th.

Read More About Brazil’s Quest for Energy Dominance on the Green Options Network:

• Ethanol Use in US and Brazil Rises Sharply
• Uruguay is Receiving Free Hydroelectric Power from Brazil this Winter–Altruistic Gesture or Ugly Bargain?
• Brazilian Ethanol– Is it More Efficient or Less Mechanized?

Photo Credit: Andréia on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

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