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For oil companies, the second quarter might be as good as it gets. Shares gained more than in any other industry, thanks to crude rising from a 12-year low. Profits were the best in at least three quarters for majors including Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Chevron Corp. and BP Plc, helped by cost cuts, analysts say.... Continue Reading →
Keppel Corp., the world’s largest builder of oil rigs, sees little prospect of an improvement in global demand amid a supply surplus that’s caused quarterly profit to fall to the lowest in almost a decade. The company may consider reducing its workforce and mothballing some facilities in its rig-building operations because of excess capacity, the... Continue Reading →
The world’s two largest providers of oilfield drilling and fracking services have now declared that the worst may be over in the two-year-old oil market crash. Schlumberger Ltd. said Thursday that the oil industry appears to have reached the bottom of the cycle, echoing smaller rival Halliburton Co., which on Wednesday said the North American... Continue Reading →
Michel Temer may not have completely won over Brazilians since taking over as acting president in May, but he appears to be a big hit with investors. Brazil’s benchmark equity index has now soared almost 60 percent in dollar terms this year, while overseas government bonds have returned 26 percent. Investors have poured into Brazil on... Continue Reading →
Lenders could accelerate the disbursement of a $4.125 billion loan to Peruvian gas pipeline operator Gasoducto Sur Peruano GSP SA if Brazilian engineering group Odebrecht SA fully exits the project overseeing the construction of the pipelines, three people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Odebrecht [ODBES.UL], which is ensnared in a corruption scandal in... Continue Reading →
Brazilian prosecutors have accused former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and the co-founder of BTG Pactual SA, Andre Esteves, of trying to obstruct the sweeping corruption probe known as Car Wash. The federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement Thursday it filed the formal accusation with the Federal District’s justice system. In the filing,... Continue Reading →
By Guillermo Parra-Bernal/Reuters The Brazilian government could offer at least $1 billion in new global bonds maturing in February 2047 at a yield in the "very low 6 percent area," a person directly involved in the deal said on Thursday, signaling growing optimism among investors on the outlook for Latin America's largest economy. Brazil's National... Continue Reading →
Keppel Corp., the world’s largest builder of oil rigs, posted a 48 percent drop in second-quarter profit as oversupply led to delivery delays for offshore projects, and said it doesn’t expect demand for rigs to return soon. Net income dropped to S$205.8 million ($152 million) from S$396.7 million a year earlier, Keppel said in a... Continue Reading →
Brazil’s central bank kept the benchmark interest rate unchanged for the eighth straight meeting Wednesday, saying stubborn inflation leaves no room for monetary easing. The central bank board, led for the first time by its new chief, Ilan Goldfajn, held the so-called Selic rate at an almost 10-year high of 14.25 percent. All 38... Continue Reading →
Brazil's government may not need a further freeze spending to meet fiscal goals because revenues are expected to recover in the second half of the year as the recession-hit economy stabilizes, government officials said on Wednesday. Local media reports have said the government was considering freezing an additional 20 billion reais ($6.17 billion) in spending... Continue Reading →
Brazil Energy Insight 