US oil companies announce oil discovery off Brazil

The well is in approximately 4,650 feet of water about 25 miles southeast from discoveries at the giant Jubarte field by Petrobras, Brazil's state-run oil company.

Preliminary results at Wahoo indicate similar characteristics to a nearby Jubarte well, which is Brazil's first producing pre-salt well and has achieved initial rates of approximately 18,000 barrels per day of light oil.

The 1-APL-1-ESS exploratory well is located on block BM-C-30.

Houston-based Anadarko, through a subsidiary, holds a 30 percent working interest in the field. Devon, headquartered in Oklahoma City, has a 25 percent interest.

The announcement comes as the stock of both companies jumped Tuesday as oil prices topped $100 per barrel on bets that Congress will resurrect a failed U.S. financial bailout plan.

Anadarko stock jumped 8.1 percent, or $3.65, to $48.81. Even with the increase, Anadarko shares remain near their 52-week low of $43.27. The shares have been as high as $81.36 in the past year.

Devon shares rose 3.5 percent, $3.08, to $91.20 in trading Tuesday. The shares have traded between $74.56 and $127.43 over the past year.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery rose $4.27 to $100.64 a barrel in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brazil's state-run Petroleo Brasileiro SA discovered the ultra-deep Tupi field last year, saying it could contain 8 billion barrels of recoverable light crude, and since then several other deep-water finds raise the possibility of recovering more than 55 billion barrels of oil, analysts said. The company has refused to forecast how big the finds might be.