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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 →
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 →
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'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 →
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 →
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
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 →
Claudio Makarovsky, Siemens Yesterday, on O & G TechWeek, which will take place from August 21 to 25 at the Tomorrow's Museum in Rio de Janeiro, Siemens introduced Topsides 4.0, a set of solutions for scanning Floating Production, Storage and Transfer Units (FPSOs). According to Claudio Makarovsky, head of the Siemens Oil & Gas lineup,... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s byzantine tax system is in for an overhaul, as Congress begins debating a bill to tackle what many investors consider one of the biggest obstacles to doing business in Latin America’s largest nation. On Tuesday a congressional committee began analyzing a constitutional amendment that aims to simplify how people and companies pay taxes, consolidating... Continue Reading →
John Watson, who has led Chevron Corp. since 2010, is planning to step down as the oil major seeks a new chief executive officer, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter. While the San Ramon, California-based producer has not made a final decision on a successor, Michael Wirth, a 56-year-old Chevron... Continue Reading →
Brazil Energy Insight 