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 →
Offshore Drillers Brace for More Pain Even With Bottom in Sight
Offshore oil-rig operators, grappling with the biggest industry downturn in a generation, say they finally have the bottom in sight. The problem is, they could be stuck there for a long time. Transocean Ltd., which owns the biggest offshore-rig fleet in the world, believes utilization for floating units will reach bottom toward the middle of... Continue Reading →
GE Said to Suffer Payment Delay on Brazil Corruption Scandal/Queiroz Galvao
General Electric Co.’s renewable energy business in Brazil is facing delays in getting paid by a client that’s involved in a corruption probe, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. GE is owed about 500 million reais ($150 million) by the Brazilian conglomerate Queiroz Galvao SA, according to the people, who asked... Continue Reading →
Prosecutors Call Lula Mastermind of Brazil’s Biggest Scandal
Brazilian prosecutors accused Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of masterminding the worst graft scandal in the country’s history, saying the former president enriched himself and orchestrated political kickbacks that cost the country billions of dollars. Lula received at least 3.7 million reais ($1.1 million) in benefits and ran the so-called Carwash scheme that cost state... Continue Reading →
Oil Industry May Cut Spending for Third Year in Row, IEA Says
The oil industry may cut spending for a third straight year in 2017 as lower costs kick in and companies continue to grapple with weaker finances because of crude’s slump. Investments in oil and gas fields are set to drop 24 percent to $450 billion this year, the International Energy Agency said in a report,... Continue Reading →
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