Don’t look now, but our petroleum imports may someday have a Portuguese accent attached to them:

[Brazil oil ministry head Haroldo] Lima told reporters that Petrobras “may have discovered a huge petroleum field that could contain reserves large as 33 billion barrels,” amounting to the world’s third-largest reserve, according to his spokesman, Luiz Fernando Manso.

Manso did not provide any details about where Lima got his information, except to say it came from “nonofficial, non-confirmed sources.” Brazil Mines and Energy Minister Edison Lobao declined comment.

Lima’s agency regulates Brazil’s oil industry, and his comments appeared to represent confirmation of what experts have long suspected: That extremely deep exploration areas hundreds of miles (kilometers) off the nation’s coast may hold potentially huge reserves.

Brazil’s current proven oil reserves are 11.8 billion barrels, according to the U.S. Energy Department. The U.S. has 21.8 billion barrels in proven reserves.

“You’re talking about a reserve the size of total U.S. reserves,” said Tim Evans, an analyst with Citigroup Inc. in New York. “It’s a big, big number.”

If this proves out, it means a new geopolitical dance is about to begin, with South America being the stage. And OPEC’s flirting with Brazil for membership will only intensify.