UPDATE 1-Petrobras confirms potential Tupi oil reserves

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SAO PAULO, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Petrobras (PETR4.SA)(PBR.N), Brazil's state-controlled oil company, said on Thursday that further tests reinforced evidence that between 5 billion and 8 billion barrels of recoverable light oil and natural gas reserves lie in the Tupi subsalt field.

Tupi is the largest discovery of oil in the Americas since the mid-1970s and lies at the heart of the so-called subsalt oil region, where massive oil reserves are sitting in the seabed off the coast of Brazil.

"Petrobras states that it concluded the drilling of a fourth well... and the result reinforced estimates of a potential of between 5 billion and 8 billion barrels," it said in a securities filing.

The well, 3-BRSA-755A-RJS, is located at a water depth of 2,115 meters (6,939 feet), about 265 km (164 miles) off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state.

The consortium responsible for the exploration of the BM-S-11 block, where Tupi is located, is composed of Petrobras with 65 percent, BG Group (BG.L) with 25 percent, and Galp (GALP.LS) with a 10 percent stake. (Reporting by Inae Riveras and Guillermo Parra-Bernal)