The December 2015 downgrade of Brazil's sovereign rating to speculative grade ('BB+'/Negative Outlook) reflected a deeper economic recession, adverse fiscal developments, rising government debt burden, and increased political uncertainty that eroded Brazil's investment grade rating underpinnings, says Fitch Ratings in a new special report. The Negative Outlook highlights continued downside risks surrounding these developments. Brazil's... Continue Reading →
Brazil Petrobras securities probe may win judgments this year
Brazil's securities regulator CVM is investigating 10 complaints that state-led oil company Petrobras, its auditors, and former company executives misled investors, several of which could result in judgments this year, the CVM president said. The cases, which carry administrative but not criminal penalties, come after shares in Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as Petrobras is formally known,... Continue Reading →
Brazil Recession Deepening With Three Lost Years, IMF Says
Brazil won’t return to growth until at least 2018 after two years of recession and one of stagnation, marking the first time in over a century that Latin America’s largest economy fails to expand for that long, the International Monetary Fund said. The IMF cut Brazil’s 2017 economic forecast to stagnation from 2.3 percent growth as... Continue Reading →
Anti-Rousseff impeachment push in Brazil loses ground
President Dilma Rousseff's opponents within her main coalition partner, the fractious Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), are losing hope that they can impeach the leftist leader and replace her with their man, Vice President Michel Temer. A Supreme Court ruling last month that expanded the authority of the Senate, where she has a more... Continue Reading →
Chinese Shipyards See New Orders Fall by Almost Half in 2015
Bloomberg News January 18, 2016 New orders received by Chinese shipbuilders fell by nearly half last year from 2014, suggesting more consolidation is in order as the country’s appetite for raw materials wanes and shipping rates languish at multiyear lows. Shipbuilders in China received new orders amounting to 31.3 million deadweight tons last year, a... Continue Reading →
Petrobras – Oil and natural gas production in 2015
01/15/2016 Rio de Janeiro, January 15, 2016 – Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras hereby announces that its average Brazilian oil production in 2015 exceeded the annual target established in the Company’s Business and Management Plan for the first time in 13 years. The period average of 2.128 million barrels per day (bpd) was 4.6% higher... Continue Reading →
Shell’s Earnings to Show Depth of Rout as Oil Extends Losses
Royal Dutch Shell Plc will this week reveal how deep the oil rout goes as energy companies reel from the worst market crisis in decades. Shell will on Wednesday become the first major oil producer to announce annual earnings as it enters the final stages of its plan to buy BG Group Plc in the... Continue Reading →
Petrobras CFO says government bailout would only be “last resort”
Jan 15, 2016 Reuters Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro SA will only seek new capital from the Brazilian government as a last resort and that no such bailout is under consideration for the heavily indebted state-led oil company, Chief Financial Officer Ivan Monteiro told reporters on Friday. Petrobras, as the company is known, understands the challenge of... Continue Reading →
Petrobras pressing ahead on asset sales to limit cuts: Itau BBA
Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro SA will press ahead with a $15 billion asset sale program to pay off debt and limit further cuts to its investments as oil prices tumble to 12-year lows, the state-led oil company told analysts on Friday. In a note to investors, Itau-BBA said Petrobras executives also stressed that a 25 percent... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Rousseff Says She Won’t Rule Out Petrobras Rescue
Brazil's Rousseff Says She Won't Rule Out Petrobras Rescue Sabrina Valle Arnaldo Galvao Anna Edgerton January 15, 2016 — Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said her administration would be willing to evaluate government assistance to support state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA if conditions in the energy market continue to deteriorate. "We won’t rule out that... Continue Reading →
Brazil Energy Insight 