The Wall Street Journal reported that Exxon is looking to jump into Brazil’s offshore sector, one of a few areas of exploration where there are still enormous volumes of known but underdeveloped oil reserves. Brazil’s pre-salt – oil trapped beneath a thick layer of salt – is looking increasingly attractive to international oil companies because of a law change in 2016 that opened up the sector to investment from private companies. Up until recently, the vast pre-salt was under the domain of Brazil’s state-owned oil company Petrobras. International companies could work as junior partners in a joint venture, but by law, Petrobras had to take the lead on any offshore drilling project and hold at least a 30 percent stake in any project. That requirement was enacted after a handful of truly massive oil discoveries put Brazil’s pre-salt on the map a decade ago. Triple-digit oil prices led Brazilian […]