Petróleo Brasileiro SA and Norway's Statoil ASA are expanding an existing partnership to help the Brazilian state-controlled company arrest declining production at aging wells in the offshore Campos Basin, two people with direct knowledge of the plan said. In late August, Petrobras and Statoil signed a memorandum of understanding that has since evolved to targeting... Continue Reading →
Brazil to Boost Funding for Solar, Cut Loans for Coal, Gas
Brazil’s development bank, the world’s biggest backer of renewable energy, will focus on clean energy while cutting support for fossil fuels as the country’s economic slump limits its resources. The bank will boost its participation in financing for solar energy, maintain incentives for wind and reduce support for big hydroelectric plants and thermoelectric plants fueled... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s new parties fail to capitalize on anti-corruption mood
Brazil's municipal elections showed that new parties have failed to capitalize on voters' disenchantment with a corruption-tainted political establishment, making it unlikely an outsider will win the 2018 presidential poll. The political movements nurtured by the anti-corruption street protests of 2013 and 2015, despite a massive presence on social media, won just a handful of... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Braskem enters talks with U.S. authorities in graft case
Mon Oct 3, 2016 | Reuters Oct 3 Brazil's Braskem SA, Latin America's largest petrochemical producer, said on Monday it had entered talks with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding an internal graft probe started in 2015. Braskem said in a securities filing that it planned to begin a parallel... Continue Reading →
Five Triggers to Signal If Brazil’s World-Beating Rally Has Legs
Brazil’s Ibovespa wrapped up a third straight quarterly gain on Friday, capping a rally that makes it the world’s best-performing stock market this year. But for the gains to continue, many investors are saying they’ll need more than optimism and promises of a rebound. Speculation that President Michel Temer’s administration could swoop in and fix... Continue Reading →
Rousseff’s Workers’ Party Knocked in Brazil City Elections
The Workers’ Party of ousted President Dilma Rousseff suffered heavy losses in Brazil’s municipal elections on Sunday, bearing the brunt of voter dissatisfaction with an economic recession and a corruption scandal that have plagued Latin America’s largest nation. After ruling Brazil for 13 years, the leftist party known PT lost control of Sao Paulo, the... Continue Reading →
Brazil M&A Rebounds as Petrobras Divestments Begin in Earnest
Dealmaking in Brazil is finally mounting a revival. Mergers and acquisitions in the country increased 35 percent to $16.6 billion in the third-quarter, compared with the same period last year, led by a spate of energy deals involving state-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA. Even more striking were the $11.1 billion in inbound transactions, according to data... Continue Reading →
Opec output cut a boon for US shale sector
September 29, 2016 admin The tentative agreement for Opec to cut its production is the best news the world’s oil producers have had all year. When ministers from the oil cartel announced in Algiers on Wednesday evening that they had agreed a production target lower than their current output, they signalled they were prepared to... Continue Reading →
Brazil Real Drops as Carry Loses Appeal Amid Strong U.S. Data
The real slipped as the U.S. economy advanced more than forecast, bolstering the dollar and dimming appetite for the world’s most-profitable carry trade. In a carry trade, investors borrow money in a low-yielding currency to invest it in a country with higher yields. Brazil’s benchmark interest rate is 14.25 percent -- more than 28 times... Continue Reading →
Update – Brazil should pass law easing Petrobras subsalt rights this year: IBP
A bill ending the requirement that Brazil's state-controlled oil company Petrobras lead all new projects in the country's Subsalt Polygon region should become law by the end of the year, the president of oil industry association IBP said on Wednesday. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is formally known, has repeatedly said its debt and... Continue Reading →
Brazil Energy Insight 