Petroleo Brasileiro SA is seeking to recover as much as 6.2 billion reais ($1.8 billion) lost as part of Brazil’s biggest corruption scandal. The world’s most indebted oil company announced today the recovery of 139 million reais from the scandal, in a ceremony with the country’s prosecutor general ahead of the year-and-a-half-long investigation. In 2014,... Continue Reading →
Rousseff Summons Governors to Brasilia
Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff is intensifying efforts to patch up political relationships as talk of her impeachment gathers strength and she braces for renewed protests in August. Accompanied by her vice president and select ministers, Rousseff began meeting with governors in Brasilia on Thursday afternoon. She used her opening remarks to ask them to support... Continue Reading →
How Cheap Oil Is Fueling a Surge In New Factories
America's energy rebirth is the gift that keeps on giving for the economy. But this year, it's more about construction than drilling holes in the ground. While the collapse in oil and gas prices since the middle of last year caused energy companies to slash investment in oil wells, Thursday's report on second-quarter GDP showed... Continue Reading →
Brazil nuclear leader’s arrest may stymie its atomic ambitions
The arrest of the longtime head of Brazil's nuclear energy utility on corruption charges could disrupt a plan to revive Brazilian nuclear ambitions whose roots go back to its atomic-bomb program in the 1980s. Othon Luiz Pinheiro da Silva, a retired admiral, was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly taking 4.5 million reais ($1.35 million) in... Continue Reading →
S&P leaves Brazil wobbling on edge of junk
NEW YORK, July 30 (IFR) - Struggling Brazil took another blow to the chin this week when S&P put the country's BBB- credit rating on negative outlook, setting the stage for a potential downgrade to junk. The other agencies could soon follow S&P's lead, as the government of President Dilma Rousseff fails to get to... Continue Reading →
Petrobras – Clarification on News: Board of Directors’ Meeting
Petrobras - Clarification on News: Board of Directors’ Meeting 07/29/2015 Rio de Janeiro, July 29, 2015 – Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras hereby responds to Official Letters n.º 295/2015/CVM/SEP/GEA-1 and BM&FBovespa n.º 2448/2015-SAE, which request clarifications on an article published on July 28, 2015 in O Estado de São Paulo newspaper, as follows: OFFICIAL LETTER... Continue Reading →
UPDATE 3-Brazil accuses former Petrobras executive of favoring Italy’s Saipem
Prosecutors in Brazil said on Wednesday former Petrobras executive Renato Duque had unfairly favored Italy's Saipem SpA on a contract for an undersea gas pipeline for the Lula and Cernambi offshore subsalt fields. The accusations came in an emailed summary of charges against Duque, who is on trial over allegations of corruption, and four other... Continue Reading →
Technip Swings to Loss
Technip SA swung to a loss in the second quarter after Europe’s biggest oil-services provider took a writedown amid an industry downturn it expects to last for longer than anticipated. The loss reached 306.9 million euros ($336.7 million) compared with a profit of 158 million euros the previous year, the Paris-based company said Thursday in... Continue Reading →
Shell to Cut 6,500 Jobs
Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it’s preparing for a “prolonged downturn” by cutting thousands of jobs and slashing billions of dollars in investments over the next two years. The shares gained the most in almost six months. The company, which in April said it was confident prices would return to $90 a barrel in three... Continue Reading →
Brazil Boosts Rate by Half-Point Saying Level Is High Enough
Brazil’s central bank raised its key rate by 50 basis points for a sixth straight meeting and signaled that borrowing costs are high enough to slow inflation toward its target. The bank’s board, led by President Alexandre Tombini, boosted the Selic rate to 14.25 percent Wednesday as forecast by 50 of 58 economists surveyed by... Continue Reading →
Brazil Energy Insight 