Petróleo Brasileiro SA will decide the structure of a stake sale in fuel distribution unit BR Distribuidora SA before the end of the month, a sign that Brazil's state-controlled oil producer is trying to speed up $14.4 billion in targeted asset sales to cut debt. In a Monday securities filing, Petrobras (PETR4.SA) said that it... Continue Reading →
Peru diversifies crude imports with purchases from Brazil, U.S.
Peru has started expanding the sources of its crude imports, slowly introducing U.S. and Brazilian grades to a slate mostly based on oil from Ecuador, Africa and Trinidad and Tobago, according to Thomson Reuters Trade Flows data. The numbers show Peru has joined the growing list of Latin American countries increasing purchases of U.S. light... Continue Reading →
Leniency Agreement signed between Brazilian Authorities, Petrobras and SBM Offshore
Rio de Janeiro, July 15, 2016 – Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras announces that today, together with the Ministry of Transparency, Oversight and Control (Ministério da Transparência, Fiscalização e Controle – “MTFC”), the Public Prosecutor’s Office (Ministério Público Federal – “MPF”), the General Counsel for the Republic (Advocacia Geral da União – “AGU”) and SBM... Continue Reading →
Corruption probe implicates Brazil’s development bank -report
Money from a public investment fund financed by payroll deductions was irregularly used to capitalize Brazil's BNDES development bank, according to leaked plea deal testimony from a wide-reaching corruption probe published in O Globo. According to the report published on Saturday, FI-FGTS, the investment arm of Brazil's public severance fund, allegedly transferred 17 billion reais... Continue Reading →
In Brazil, Another Shipyard Goes Bust as Work Returns to Asia
If there’s one industry where all of Brazil’s political and economic upheavals come together, it’s shipbuilding. A Rio de Janeiro shipyard, where suspended president Dilma Rousseff once promised to employ an army of welders, electricians and engineers to make offshore oil platforms, is all but shut. Every other day, 50 workers on average hand in... Continue Reading →
SBM Jumps Most in Nine Months Following Brazilian Leniency Deal
SBM Offshore NV, a Dutch oil-services provider, rose the most in nine months in Amsterdam trading after reaching a leniency deal with Brazilian authorities following a corruption investigation. SBM climbed as much as 15 percent Monday, the biggest intraday gain since Sept. 28 and the most among companies on the Stoxx Europe 600 Oil &... Continue Reading →
Brazil Has Its Own Iron Lady, and She Won’t Be Giving You a Loan
The new leader of Brazil’s development bank is bolstering confidence in the government’s efforts to revive the economy by pledging to shrink the lender’s size. BNDES, as the bank is known, is curtailing subsidized credit for Brazil’s biggest companies to focus on financing private-public partnerships and smaller businesses that would otherwise have trouble getting loans.... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s foreign minister warns against overappreciation of real
Brazilian Foreign Minister Jose Serra warned against the excessive appreciation of the country's currency as it could hurt exporters, revealing concerns in the interim government that a stronger real could further sink an economy mired in recession. In an interview late on Thursday, which also included written answers to questions from Reuters, Serra said the... Continue Reading →
BRIEF-Brazil’s Petrobras close to concluding sale of Petrobras Argentina
Jul 14, 2016 5:02pm EDT Reuters Chief executive of Brazil's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Pedro Parente, said on Thursday the company was close to completing the sale of Petrobras Argentina * The sale of its Argentine asset is part of a larger divestiture plan intended to reduce the companies debt load * Parente... Continue Reading →
Petrobras will halt production at 25 platforms for up to a year
Approved by ANP last week, Petrobras will halt production at 25 platforms for up to a year while negotiating the sale of the areas to the private sector. Petrobras also requested the interruption of production in nine other units, but will still need to present studies to justify the request. The units are located in... Continue Reading →