By Marianna Parraga, Gram Slattery and Marta Nogueira RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Major global oil firms snubbed a second Brazilian oil auction in a row on Thursday, passing up promising offshore blocks and forcing officials to reconsider a bidding system that gives a privileged position to state-run Petroleo Brasileiro SA. The only block awarded in Thursday's bidding … [Read more...]
Brazil’s Biggest-Ever Oil Auction a ‘Total Disaster’ as Bidders Stay Away
By Sabrina Valle, Peter Millard and Luiza Ferraz (Bloomberg) --Brazil’s largest-ever auction of oil deposits flopped, sending the real tumbling, after state-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA did most of the bidding while other major oil companies stayed away. Petrobras, as the company is known, joined with China’s Cnooc Ltd. and China National Oil & Gas Exploration & … [Read more...]
Brazil ID’s Greek Ship Responsible for Mystery Oil Spill
By Ricardo Brito BRASILIA, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Brazilian investigators said on Friday a Greek-flagged ship carrying Venezuelan crude was the source of oil tarring thousands of kilometers of coastline over the past two months. While prosecutors and police did not name the vessel, a prosecutors' document obtained by Reuters identified the ship as the Bouboulina, owned by … [Read more...]
Exxon May Take a Pass on Brazil’s Top Deepwater Oil Discovery
By Peter Millard (Bloomberg) --Exxon Mobil Corp. could take a pass on what it considers the world’s top deep-water oil discovery when Brazil puts the giant Buzios field up for auction next week. The Irving, Texas-based oil titan already has a large portfolio of offshore Brazil blocks it built up in recent years when access to one of the world’s hottest exploration regions … [Read more...]
A Mysterious Oil Spill Has Been Washing Up in Brazil for Months
By Jake Spring and Marta Nogueira BRASILIA/RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 24 (Reuters) - A thick sludge of crude oil has been washing up on vast stretches of Brazil's coast for nearly two months, and authorities and experts have been baffled by its origin. This is what is known about the environmental disaster and what remains a mystery. WHAT HAS HAPPENED? Oil has washed up along … [Read more...]