Petrobras, Mitsui to develop oil shale in Utah

TOKYO, June 10 (Reuters) - Brazil's state-owned oil company Petrobas (PETR4.SA)(PBR.N) and Japan's Mitsui & Co (8031.T) have acquired the rights to develop oil shale in Utah on a project owned by a private U.S. company based in the state, the U.S firm said.

Petrobas and Mitui each have acquired a 10-20 percent stake in the project owned by the private Utah-based company, Oil Shale Exploration Company (OSEC).

A Mitsui official said three companies will jointly conduct a feasibility study lasting about a year, but other details like total costs, or a production schedule were still unknown.

Japanese business daily Nikkei said the three companies aim to produce about 5,000-10,000 barrels per day (bpd) worth of oil by 2013 and gradually raise output to as much as 50,000 bpd.

OSEC is the largest non-governmental holder of oil shale reserves in Utah.

Massive reserves of oil shale, which largely exist in the United States, were once considered too costly and too complex to develop, but soaring oil prices and advances in drilling technology have made it possible to explore the resource. (Reporting by Chikafumi Hodo; Editing by Louise Heavens)