State-owned conglomerate China Merchants Group is exploring acquisitions of offshore rig operators, which have struggled to recover from a collapse in oil-industry spending, people with knowledge of the matter said. As part of this analysis, the Chinese firm has looked at various assets and companies including Seadrill Ltd. and Shelf Drilling Ltd., the people said, asking not to be identified... Continue Reading →

A top Brazilian federal prosecutor defended the size of fines levied against companies involved in the nation’s graft probes, saying that despite a public outcry some were too low, it was more important to dismantle the schemes than punish firms. Fines of different sizes and different terms have raised concerns that Brazil’s sweeping anti-corruption investigation... Continue Reading →

(Reuters) - Brazil’s gross domestic product grew a stronger-than-expected 0.2 percent in the second quarter from the prior three months, statistics agency IBGE said on Friday, suggesting a recovery from the nation’s deepest recession on record remains on track. The Brazilian economy grew 0.3 percent in the three months through June compared to the same... Continue Reading →

World energy markets, from butane in Asia to gasoline in Latin America and diesel in Europe, are feeling the ripple effect of Texas’s deadly storm, highlighting the growing importance of the U.S. for the global oil industry. When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, the U.S. exported just 800,000 barrels a day of mostly refined products.... Continue Reading →

U.S. authorities are investigating China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. over allegations that the state-controlled oil producer paid Nigerian officials about $100 million worth of bribes to resolve a business dispute, according to people familiar with the probe. Investigators from the Securities and Exchange Commission and Justice Department are looking into allegations that outside lawyers acting as middlemen for the company, known... Continue Reading →

The latest hit list potentially reduces U.S. fuel-making capacity to the lowest since 2008, following Hurricane Ike. Motiva Enterprises LLC’s Port Arthur facility in Texas, the biggest U.S. refinery, is shutting because of severe flooding, said a person with knowledge of the operations. Total SA’s refinery in Port Arthur is out with a power loss, a person familiar with that plant... Continue Reading →

  Aug, 2017 The Customs of the Federal Revenue Service at the Port of Santos authorized BG Brazil to export crude oil produced in an exclusive geographical area located off the coast of the state of São Paulo, in the Santos Basin. The authorization was published on 29th in the Official Gazette of the Union.... Continue Reading →

U.S. offshore oil and gas operators have, as of Monday, evacuated 98 production platforms and five drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, in response to the hurricane Harvey. This means that some operators have actually returned some personnel offshore, as the previous number, as of Sunday, showed 105 evacuated platforms. Read more

Houston was born from the wreckage of a cataclysmic storm in 1900, and in the decades since has weathered not only water and wind but the gyrating fortunes of the oil industry. The sprawling megalopolis, which takes a perverse pride in its booms and busts, will endure Harvey as well, said Patrick Jankowski, senior vice... Continue Reading →

Ricardo Darre, chief executive officer of YPF SA, has resigned as Argentina’s largest oil producer prepares to sell at least $1 billion in assets and focus on developing the world’s second-biggest reserve of shale gas. A six-person committee will lead the company after Darre resigned, according to a filing by YPF on Monday. Darre didn’t... Continue Reading →