With Exxon Mobil Corp.’s (XOM) new oil discovery off the coast of Brazil – the latest in a series of such offshore finds and potentially the largest Western Hemisphere discovery in three – the South American nation has taken another giant step in its quest to become a global energy superpower.

Why The Smart Money Is Flooding Brazil. Here’s a challenge: Find me a more exciting investment story than Brazil right now. I guarantee you will fail.

Remember last week when the director of the Brazil National Petroleum Agency Haroldo Lima told the world that the Carioca oil field, “Could be the world’s biggest oil discovery in thirty years?” Let’s unpack the word “could.” It “could” be the world’s biggest oil field that will never enter into production.