Brazilian state-run oil giant Petrobras on Friday confirmed the discovery of a large crude oil deposit off the coast of the northeastern Sergipe state.

The reserve could yield nearly a billion barrels of crude, representing one of the world ' s largest finds of its kind in 2013, the company said.

Petrobras CEO Maria das Gracas Silva Foster said initial extraction could begin in 2018 at a rate of 100,000 barrels a day.

She said the deposit, in deep waters of the Sergipe basin 100 km off the coast, promises to be substantial.