By Sabrina Valle and R.T. Watson (Bloomberg) - Leaner and fitter after three years of low prices, Big Oil is descending on Rio de Janeiro to join a deep-water bonanza that has already helped state-controlled Petrobras emerge from financial heartache. Output is surging at Brazil’s so-called pre-salt region. This decade it has gone from nothing to 1.3 million barrels a day. … [Read more...]
How One Lone Oil Rig Embodies the Brazil Boom That Never Was
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...]