A Brazilian state appeals court postponed on Monday a vote on the legality of several aspects of Grupo OAS SA's restructuring plan for at least a couple of weeks, adding uncertainty to efforts by the debt-laden engineering conglomerate to emerge from bankruptcy protection. The appeals court in São Paulo agreed earlier in the day to... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Odebrecht may pay whistleblowers $275 million, Valor says
Brazilian engineering conglomerate Odebrecht SA may agree to pay up to 900 million reais ($275 million) in compensation to whistleblowers within the company to settle a major graft and money-laundering probe, newspaper Valor Economico reported on Tuesday. Valor reported, citing unnamed sources participating in legal discussions, that Odebrecht was negotiating average compensation of 15 million... Continue Reading →
Mothballing the World’s Fanciest Oil Rigs Is a Massive Gamble
In a far corner of the Caribbean Sea, one of those idyllic spots touched most days by little more than a fisherman chasing blue marlin, billions of dollars worth of the world’s finest oil equipment bobs quietly in the water. They are high-tech, deepwater drillships -- big, hulking things with giant rigs that tower high... Continue Reading →
Oil Majors Must Count on M&A to Replenish Reserves, WoodMac Says
Major oil producers will rely on acquisitions for about half theirreserve replacement in the future after cutting exploration budgets to weather the crude-price collapse, according to Wood Mackenzie Ltd. Big oil companies are no longer trying to replace all their production through conventional exploration, the energy consulting company said in a report published Tuesday. "Now... Continue Reading →
Petrobras expected to cut investment, output in 2017-21 plan
Brazil's heavily indebted state-led oil company Petrobras will likely cut planned investment by about a sixth and its 2020 output goal by 14 percent under a five-year strategic plan scheduled for release Tuesday before markets open, according to analysts. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is formally known, is expected to announce a 2017-2021 capital... Continue Reading →
Big Oil Was Never That Big a Money-Maker, Goldman Sachs Says
Oil companies longing for the glory days of ultra-high crude prices might wish to think again. The rising oil prices that came to characterize energy markets in the mid-2000s, and which culminated in a record near-$150 a barrel in 2008, were not the windfall investors might have imagined, according to a new note from Goldman Sachs Group... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s Currency Bulls Now Getting Burned by Political Mess
The world’s best currency rally has lost its mojo. Brazil’s real has been falling in recent weeks, and is now barely hanging on as 2016’s top performer. Bears are reemerging as a fractured congress, feuding politicians and a stew of corruption dims hopes President Michel Temer will succeed in pushing through reforms to shore up... Continue Reading →
Abreu e Lima Refinery (RNEST) achieves new monthly oil processing record
Rio de Janeiro, September 16, 2016 – Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras hereby announces that for the fourth consecutive month, the Abreu e Lima Refinery (RNEST) achieved record oil processing volume. In August, the refinery processed 3.09 million barrels, equivalent to 99,770 barrels of oil processed per day, 0.6% higher than in July 2016. As... Continue Reading →
EMERGING MARKETS-Mexico peso hits record low on U.S. CPI data; Brazil real rises
Most Latin American currencies slumped on Friday after U.S. inflation data offered additional support to expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike this year, with the Mexican peso hitting a fresh record low against the dollar. But the Brazilian real strengthened after central bank chief Ilan Goldfajn told Reuters that financial turbulence stemming from U.S.... Continue Reading →
Brazil Police Probe Overseas Financing by BNDES Development Bank
Brazilian police are deepening a probe into overseas financing provided by state development bank BNDES, further linking the lender to the country’s sweeping corruption probe. The investigation focuses on illegal payments made in exchange for BNDES loans in the Dominican Republic, Angola, Cuba, Panama, Gana and Mexico, according to a police statement released on Thursday.... Continue Reading →
