"This report is one of a series dealing with oil shale operations in foreign countries visited and studied by Bureau of Mines oil shale technologists within the past 4 years. Data in this report show that Brazil lacks fuel supplies adequate for further industrialization and consequent economic advancement. Firewood and hydroelectric power are the largest sources of mechanical energy, and nearly half the coal burned in 1946 was imported. Exploration and drilling for petroleum and natural gas have been moderately successful, but the total estimated proved reserves of crude petroleum in 1948 were less than the annual consumption of imported petroleum and petroleum products in Brazil."