By Sabrina Valle and Peter Millard (Bloomberg) -- Oil majors had big plans for Brazil, but you can’t tell by looking at the country’s offshore drilling these days. After crude was first struck in the pre-salt formation in the seas off Rio de Janeiro, producers including BP Plc and Total SA were ready to flock to Brazil with billions of dollars in investments. … [Read more...]
Brazil’s Oil Auction Today Was a Total Bust
By Jeb Blount, Marta Nogueira and Stephen Eisenhammer RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Brazil attracted little interest in a new oil and gas exploration rights auction on Wednesday as state-led Petrobras and other major oil companies declined to bet on an industry in turmoil and an economy in recession. The auction was seen as a test for how Brazil's oil … [Read more...]
Petrobras Said to Interrupt Drilling at Biggest Brazil Discovery
By Peter Millard and Sabrina Valle (Bloomberg) -- Petroleo Brasileiro SA halted drilling at its largest oil discovery in deep waters, two people with knowledge of the matter said, underscoring the technical challenges facing the company’s new management team. An unplanned procedure to retrieve equipment stopped work for more than a week at a well in Libra, the people … [Read more...]
Brazil Oil Union Plans Indefinite Strike
SAO PAULO, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Brazil's national oil worker's federation could start an indefinite strike on Oct. 17 if a pay dispute with state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileira SA is not resolved. The workers have rejected Petrobras' proposal offering a raise between 1.17 percent and 1.5 percent while workers want 5 percent, according to a statement on the federation's … [Read more...]
Farstad Wins New Contracts Offshore Brasil
Farstad announced the winning of three new contracts today worth a total of NOK 150 million for operations offshore Brazil. The contracts consist of: Shell Brasil: A 6 month contract with a two month option for the AHTS Far Senator (2013, UT 731 CD, 24,000 BHP), vessel to depart North Sea next month Total E&P do Brasil: 6 month contract for the PSV Far Swift (2003, UT … [Read more...]
$5 Billion of Brazilian Seafloor Up for Auction, Offshore Drillers Flock to Brazil
(Bloomberg) -- More than 60 oil companies are set to bid on exploration permits offshore Brazil, taking on risks of drilling in virgin waters after similar geology across the Atlantic in Ghana and Ivory Coast yielded major discoveries. Contestants in Brazil’s first oil auction in five years range from Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., the largest U.S. producers by … [Read more...]
Petrobras Raises $11 Billion in Record Bond Sale
By Boris Korby and Veronica Navarro Espinosa May 13 (Bloomberg) -- Petroleo Brasileiro SA sold $11 billion of bonds abroad today, the most ever for an emerging- market issuer, as it seeks to develop the biggest offshore oil find in the Americas in more than 30 years. Petrobras, as the Brazilian state-run oil producer is known, issued fixed-rate bonds due in three, five, … [Read more...]