Tech company Microsoft and oil services provider Halliburton have entered into a strategic alliance aiming to drive digital transformation across the oil and gas industry. Halliburton said earlier this week that the relationship would combine the expertise of a software company with cloud and digital transformation experience with its exploration and production (E&P) science, software,... Continue Reading →
Seadrill shares hit rock bottom ahead of Chapter 11
Offshore driller Seadrill saw its share prices touch an all time low following the release of the company’s second quarter report. The shares fell below NOK 2,00 on Thursday morning, with some trades made at below 1,79 NOK a share, a giant drop from the 2013 heydays when the share was at an all time... Continue Reading →
Bassoe: Up to 340 offshore drilling rigs could be scrapped by 2020
With utilization levels at just over 50% for all rig types and over 130 newbuild rigs stranded or under construction, the need for an increase in rig scrapping (recycling) seems obvious. But it’s not that simple. Owners such as Transocean, Diamond, and Ensco have made significant contributions to reducing oversupply in recent years. Combined, they... Continue Reading →
Temer Buoyed by Brazil Vote to Curb Budget-Busting Loans
Brazil’s lower house of Congress passed a bill curtailing subsidized lending practices that had drained public coffers and stoked inflation, boosting President Michel Temer’s reform agenda. The Chamber of Deputies voted on Thursday in favor of legislation that phases out below-market loans from state development bank BNDES and creates the new TLP rate. Legislators rejected... Continue Reading →
Brazil to Crack Down on Ships Sold Into `Toxic’ Scrap Trade
Brazilian regulators are planning to strengthen rules to prevent exporters such as Petrobras and Vale SA from selling aging ships to buyers who offload the vessels in South Asia’s controversial coastal scrapyards. Earlier this month, authorities decided to develop a legal framework to ensure former Brazilian ships don’t end up with recyclers notorious for using dirty and dangerous methods, federal environmental... Continue Reading →
Seven more companies were approved by ANP for the 14th Round
The Special Bidding Committee (CEL) approved the addition of seven other companies in the 14th Round of Bids. Of these, four are of foreign origin - Capricorn Brazil Petroleum and Gas (India), Gran Tierra Energy Brasil Ltda. (Canada), Rosneft Brazil E & P Ltda. (Russia) and Tek Oil and Gas Ltda. (China) - and three... Continue Reading →
Brazil approves quota, 20 percent tax on ethanol imports
Brazil's government on Wednesday approved taxing ethanol imports for the first time in a move to protect local producers from growing shipments coming from the United States. Brazil's Agriculture Ministry said the country's foreign trade chamber, known as Camex, approved a 20-percent tax on ethanol imports, which would be levied only after a tax-free quota... Continue Reading →
DOF Subsea secures work for five vessels
Subsea services provider DOF Subsea has been awarded several contracts, securing utilization for five vessels in the subsea inspection, maintenance, and repair (IMR) projects segment. DOF Subsea said on Wednesday that the company was awarded several contracts and work under existing frame agreements in the Asia Pacific and Atlantic regions. The contracts will utilize the... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Lula says party may field someone else in 2018
Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told Reuters on Wednesday that his recent conviction for corruption might mean that his Workers Party will have to field a candidate other than him in next year's election. Read more
Brazil Power Wizard Takes Center Stage in Eletrobras Shock – is Petrobras next?
It took less than 10 days to decide to privatize Latin America’s largest power company. Fortunately for the Brazilian government, with its fiscal accounts in dire straits, it already had someone enthusiastic for the job. When the Energy Ministry came to him with the proposal, Eletrobras Chief Executive Officer Wilson Ferreira Jr. jumped on board to... Continue Reading →
