RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- A total investment of 400 billion U.S. dollars is needed to develop Brazil's pre-salt layer oil fields, the president of the country's National Petroleum Agency said Wednesday.

    Speaking at a meeting of the foreign relations committee of Brazil's House of Representatives, Haroldo Lima reaffirmed that the country's pre-salt layer oil reserves amount to 50 to 80 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

    The pre-salt layer oil reserves, discovered last year and mainly located off the coast of Brazil's five states, is considered able to turn Brazil into one of the world's largest oil producers.

    The model for the exploitation has yet to be decided. A special committee has been formed to analyze the country's Petroleum Law. They will decide whether to change the law and make it applicable to all oil fields, or to create a new set of regulations for the pre-salt layer fields.