By Ana Mano SAO PAULO, April 2 (Reuters) - Brazilian port operators including units of global grain traders Cargill Ltd and Bunge Ltd will unveil a proposal this week to lower Panama Canal tariffs and cut their costs in shipping agricultural commodities to their main market China. They will argue that at current tariffs, shipping grains from Brazil's northern ports via … [Read more...]
Fall of Fugitive `Batman’ Puts Global Oil Trading on the Spot
By Sabrina Valle and Lucia Kassai (Bloomberg) -- To his friends, Rodrigo Berkowitz lived within his means in a rented house in the suburbs of Houston. The former oil trader for state-controlled producer Petroleo Brasileiro SA bought clothes in outlet malls and sent his two daughters to public school. For a family Christmas trip to Orlando, his plan was to drive the … [Read more...]
Unreported Tanker Collision in Brazil Reveals Offshore Regulatory Gaps
By Alexandra Alper and Marianna Parraga RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Brazil has more than doubled the number of risky ship-to-ship oil transfers this year, but its monitoring of such offshore maneuvers is lax, to a point where a July 2017 collision between two tankers was not reported, according to a Reuters review of government and shipping records. Transfers are … [Read more...]
Brazil’s New President Set for Offshore Oil Windfall
By Sabrina Valle (Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s President-elect Jair Bolsonaro is staring at an oil windfall. After a decade of stagnant production, Brazil’s offshore mega-projects are about to deliver a double whammy with exports set to surge and Brent prices comfortably above $70 a barrel. This means more revenue for a country beset with fiscal deficits, and more activity in a … [Read more...]
Exxon Makes Major Bet on Brazil as Petrobras Eases Its Grip
By Sabrina Valle and Kevin Crowley (Bloomberg) -- In a single year, Exxon Mobil Corp. has gone from being a tiny bit player in Brazil to the second-largest holder of oil exploration acreage, trailing only state-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA. The last 24 concessions the U.S. giant bought with its partners may hold 41 billion barrels, based on preliminary … [Read more...]