RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's state-owned oil and gas giant Petrobras Wednesday confirmed the discovery of a huge oil and natural gas field in the pre-salt layer off the country's southeastern coast.

    The company said the newly found Iara 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.

    Petrobras now knows that the field has an area of 300 square km, and contains light oil of between 26 and 30 API gravity degrees.

    The API gravity, or the American Petroleum Institute gravity, is a measure of how heavy or light a petroleum liquid is compared to water. If its API gravity is greater than 10, it is lighter and floats on water; if less than 10, it is heavier and sinks.

    The Iara oil field can boost Brazil's oil production, and turn the country into one of the largest oil producers in the world, the Petrobras said.