Mysterious Oil Spill Could Cost Brazil Billions
Just as Brazil is preparing to hold what could be a blockbuster US$50-billion oil auction in early November, an oil spill of still unknown origin on more than 200 beaches Continue Reading
Brazil’s $50 Billion Oil Boom Is Falling Apart
Exxon may not be interested in stepping up to the bidding plate at Brazil’s massive $50 billion transfer of rights auction next week, because the oilfields up for grabs come Continue Reading
Is The Brazilian Oil Boom Overhyped?
At least one large international oil player will refrain from taking part in the so-called transfer-of-rights oil auction Brazil has scheduled for next week. Repsol Sinopec, a joint venture between Continue Reading
As oil majors eye Brazil’s deepwater, smaller firms seize opportunity
As global oil firms make ever-bigger bets on Brazil’s massive deepwater fields in its ‘subsalt’ area, a swarm of small and mid-sized companies has sprung up to specialize in lower-profile Continue Reading
Why Brazil Joining OPEC Would Be A Massive Mistake
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro floated the idea of joining OPEC during a visit to Saudi Arabia. Appearing at the so-called “Davos in the Desert,” Bolsonaro expressed interest in OPEC. “I Continue Reading
Brazilian Oil Giant Braces For Strikes Ahead Of $50 Billion Auction
Brazil’s state-run oil company, Petrobras, is about to get hit with a general strike action from a group representing no fewer than 12 oil worker unions, according to the group’s Continue Reading
Exclusive: Petrobras, Brazil’s government near oil marketing deal – official
Brazil’s Petrobras could take over marketing of the government’s share of crude from offshore oilfields, a government official told Reuters, adding significantly to the state-run oil firm’s trading operations. Pre-Salt Continue Reading
Oil Majors Scoop Up Very-Hot Blocks In Record Brazil Auction
ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, and Total all won oil exploration blocks offshore Brazil in the first of three bidding rounds this year which fetched a record total amount of signing Continue Reading
Brazil’s Huge $25 Billion Oil Auction Clears Very Important Hurdle
Brazil’s massive transfer-of-rights oil auction to be held on November 7 has cleared one hurdle as the Brazilian Congress approved on Thursday one section of a larger bill that determines Continue Reading
Brazil’s Petrobras sees oil exports growing more than one-third in future years
Brazil’s Petrobras plans to increase the amount of oil it exports by more than a third in the coming years, the state-run company said in a statement on Friday In Continue Reading
Petrobras Plans $105 Billion In Investments Till 2023
Brazil’s Petrobras plans to invest a total US$105 billion in the five years to 2023 and divest assets worth US$35 billion, chief executive Roberto Castello Branco said this week as Continue Reading
Brazil’s subsalt frontier sets output records in April: Petrobras
Brazilian state-led oil and natural gas producer Petrobras set fresh daily and monthly records for output from ultra-deepwater fields in the country’s offshore subsalt frontier in April and May, capping Continue Reading
Petrobras plan to end refining monopoly in Brazil comes with caveats
Brazil’s Petroleo Brasileiro SA drew plaudits from investors last month for announcing a plan to sell off eight of its refineries in a process the company says could fetch some Continue Reading
Has Brazil’s Oil Boom Been Overstated?
Recent hiccups for Brazilian oil supply call into question the growth projections for the country, with implications for the global oil market. Brazil’s oil production slipped by 65,000 bpd in Continue Reading
The Oil Producer OPEC Is Overlooking
While everyone is talking about how surging U.S. crude oil production will offset a large part of the ongoing OPEC/non-OPEC production cuts, there are other oil producers not taking part Continue Reading
Exclusive: U.S. opens probe into Brazilian oil bribery scheme
The U.S. Justice Department is investigating a former U.S.-based oil trader for Brazil’s Petrobras already charged in his home country with taking part in a corruption scheme involving commodity companies Continue Reading
Petrobras preempts three pre-salt areas ahead of sixth auction
Brazilian state oil company Petrobras wants to exercise pre-emption rights for three areas ahead of the sixth bidding round of pre-salt offshore oil to be held later this year. The Continue Reading
Brazilian government denies to pay $14 billion to Petrobras
Brazil’s Economy Ministry denied that the government would pay $14 billion to state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA to settle a dispute over an oil-producing zone off the Brazilian coast Continue Reading
Total raises Lapa stake, creates JV with Petrobras for renewables
France-based Total, the operator of Brazil’s pre-salt Lapa field, will increase its stake there to 45 percent, and separately create a joint venture with state oil company Petrobras to develop Continue Reading
Buenos Aires takes on the car, and it’s not alone
The global effort to reduce reliance on gasoline and diesel may be fought on the streets of the world’s cities. In Buenos Aires , officials are making it easier to Continue Reading
Petrobras sells stakes in Brazilian fields worth $823M to focus on deepwater
Brazilian state oil company Petrobras said Wednesday it has sold onshore and shallow offshore fields in Brazil for $823 million, part of the company’s efforts to divest assets to focus Continue Reading
Brazil Backs Out of Hosting 2019 Climate Change Meeting
Brazil this week pulled out of hosting next year’s United Nations global summit on climate change, the latest signal that Latin America’s largest nation no longer aspires to be an Continue Reading
Exclusive: Brazil oil tanker collision reveals offshore regulatory gaps
Brazil has more than doubled the number of risky ship-to-ship oil transfers this year, but its monitoring of such offshore maneuvers is lax, to a point where a July 2017 Continue Reading
Brazil Eyes $30 Billion Offshore Oil Boom
Over the past few years, Brazil has held several very successful oil auctions under production-sharing contracts in its pre-salt layer, attracting major oil companies to its prized offshore oil area. Continue Reading
Amazon rainforest deforestation ‘worst in 10 years’, says Brazil
The government blamed illegal logging for the rise Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil has hit its highest rate in a decade, according to official data. About 7,900 sq Continue Reading
Brazil’s recent subsalt sales to add 2.1 mil b/d in output by 2028: PPSA
The 14 subsalt areas that Brazil sold at the country’s five production-sharing auctions will yield about 2.1 million b/d and 24 million cu m/d in fresh output by 2028, according Continue Reading
Is The World’s Most Indebted Oil Company About To Be Privatized?
In the past, Brazil’s massive state-owned oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) has operated at the whim of Brazilian politics, a volatile model to say the least. After years of Continue Reading
Could Brazil’s Oil Sector Trigger An Economic Miracle?
Brazil’s new far-right President elect Jair Bolsonaro, dubbed in some circles as the “Trump of the tropics”, has huge plans in store for Brazilian crude. His energy team is planning Continue Reading
World’s Most Indebted Oil Company Reports 20-Fold Increase in Profit
Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras ( NYSE:PBR ) reported on Tuesday a net income for Q3 surging more than 20 times compared to the profit for the same quarter last Continue Reading
Petrobras Puts Brakes On Chevron Drilling Plan
Brazil’s state energy giant Petrobras has decided not to go through with a drilling plan at a field operated by Chevron, effectively ruining the supermajor’s plans for the field, Reuters Continue Reading
To Gut the Amazon, Bolsonaro Needs Local Help
Over the weekend, the ultra-conservative candidate Jair Bolsonaro handily beat his opponent, Fernando Haddad of the Workers’ Party (PT), in the second round of the Brazilian presidential elections. For a campaign Continue Reading
Brazil: Bolsonaro plans threaten Amazon, say experts
Brazil’s highly biodiverse Cerrado is being destroyed for soybean production, conservationists say Brazil’s far-right President-elect Jair Bolsonaro will merge the ministries of agriculture and the environment, an aide says, in Continue Reading
Analysis: Brazil’s Bolsonaro likely to advance oil-industry reforms
Brazil’s oil and natural gas industry will likely continue to see reforms aimed at luring investments and boosting production, especially in the highly productive subsalt frontier, after the country elected Continue Reading
Brazilian biomass-powered electricity expands 11 percent over last year
The Brazilian production of electricity from biomass, mostly produced from sugar cane material and then fed into the country’s power grid, increased 11 percent during January-August from a year earlier. Continue Reading
Brazil Reserves and Production Update, 1H2018
Brazil and Petrobras show something in common with US LTO: even with a lot of debt and desire, and a strong resource base it is difficult to raise production in Continue Reading
Shell, Chevron bet big in last Brazil oil auction before elections
Royal Dutch Shell Plc ( RDSa.AS ) and Chevron Corp ( CVX.N ) on Friday led big bets by oil majors seeking to clinch key stakes in Brazil’s coveted offshore Continue Reading
The World’s No.1 Offshore Boom Is Facing Uncertainty
The outcome of Brazil’s upcoming presidential election is astoundingly unclear, with scenarios that range from a winner from the far-right, center or left. The energy industry is certainly not at Continue Reading
Petrobras, Total ink deals for Brazil government share of pre-salt oil cargo
Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras ( PETR4.SA ) and France’s Total ( TOTF.PA ) on Friday agreed to buy millions of barrels of oil cargo from the Brazilian government, its Continue Reading
BP, Shell, Total To Bid In Brazil’s Pre-Salt Oil Auction In September
Brazil’s oil regulator ANP has approved the applications of six companies—including Big Oil’s BP, Shell, and Total—to bid in next month’s oil auction of four blocks in the coveted pre-salt Continue Reading
Equinor identifies Brazil as a core area of focus
After expressing concern about the long-term future offshore Norway, energy major Equinor said Wednesday that Brazil’s energy sector was now a core area. Equinor has more than 90,000 barrels of Continue Reading
Plowing $8 billion into Brazil mature basin could boost oil output: report
Investing $8 billion in Brazil’s waning offshore Campos Basin could boost its oil production by 230,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) by 2025, consultancy Wood Mackenzie said in Continue Reading
Gulf Coast Oil Product Cargoes Diverted To Brazil After Petrobras Refinery Fire
At least four tankers loaded with ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) en route from the U.S Gulf Coast to Europe abruptly changed course this week to Brazil, following a fire at a Continue Reading
Brazil’s Petrobras pumps first oil from Tartaruga Verde Field
Brazilian state-led oil producer Petrobras pumped first oil from the offshore Tartaruga Verde Field, completing installation of the company’s second new floating production unit to enter service in 2018, Petrobras Continue Reading
Brazil opens door to oil production advances
New policies enacted by Brazilian energy regulators facilitate construction of the production infrastructure needed to crack into offshore oil, a report found. A compromise solution from the National Agency of Continue Reading
Equinor seals the deal offshore Brazil
Equity production from offshore Brazil more than doubles after the completion of an acquisition in the Campos oil basin, Norwegian company Equinor said. Equinor, formerly known as Statoil, said Friday Continue Reading
Pipelay vessel arrives for oil basins offshore Brazil
A marine vessel designed to lay pipelines in the submarine environment arrived in the oil-rich waters off the coast of Brazil, joint venture partners said. Oilfield services company TechnipFMC announced Continue Reading
Oil Majors Undeterred By Brazilian Turmoil
Brazil held an auction last week that attracted some of the largest oil companies in the world, including Chevron, ExxonMobil and Equinor (formerly Statoil). The auction comes on the heels Continue Reading
Brazilian oil good for deep-pocketed companies
An auction for rights to tap into the oil basins off the coast of Brazil highlights the country’s prospects for those with deep enough pockets, analysis found. Brazil on Thursday Continue Reading
Exxon, Equinor complete partnership offshore Brazil
Development of oil basins off the coast of Brazil remains a core focus, Norwegian energy company Equinor said after selling off interests to Exxon Mobil. Equinor, formerly known as Statoil, Continue Reading
Brazil oil workers end strike early, output not affected: Petrobras
Oil workers ended a 72-hour warning strike at Brazilian state-led oil producer and refiner Petrobras a day early after a Labor Court judge increased fines for not adhering to an Continue Reading