Brazil will offer 91 oil blocks permanently
Brazil's Ministry of Mines and Energy said in a statement on Friday that it will sell 91 oil blocks permanently. This could result in signing bonuses of up to 2.4 billion Reis ($394.11m) at the next auction. The government will offer 39 blocks within the Sao Francisco Basin of Minas Gerais, 41 blocks, and a marginal accumulating field in Rio Grande do Norte's Potiguar Basin, as well as 11 blocks located in Brazil's pre-salt region.
Ibama, Brazil's Ibama, seeks information on Petrobras Amazon project and rejects suggestions to kill it
Documents seen by on Tuesday showed that the head of Brazil's environment agency Ibama decided not to reject a Petrobras request to drill near Amazon River, even though experts at the agency recommended the request be rejected. According to regulatory documents, Ibama's Rodrigo Agostinho asked Petrobras instead for more details regarding Petrobras’ requested offshore drilling licence for the Foz de Amazonas region off the coast Amapa state.
Petrobras, Brazil's natural gas company, will pump gas from a reopened offshore oil well
Petrobras, the Brazilian oil giant, is planning to reopen an oil well that was closed in its offshore Roncador oil field to obtain natural gas quickly. This decision was made by the company's CEO on Thursday. Magda Chambriard, the Chief Executive of Magda Energy, told reporters that the well located northeast of Rio de Janeiro could begin producing as soon as next year. It would supply approximately 1.7 million cubic metres per day when it is brought on line, she said.
CFO: Petrobras new strategic plan will focus more on oil and natural gas.
Fernando Melgarejo, the Chief Financial Officer of Petrobras, said that the new strategic plan for the Brazilian state-run company will be more focused on upstream operations. Melgarejo said that the plan for 2025-2029, which is being developed, will not include any mergers or acquisitions of major proportions and it is unlikely to need more debt and cash than the one for 2024-2028.
Petrobras Post Strong Results as Crude Rises, Gas Strengthen
Brazil's Petrobras beat second quarter profit estimates on Wednesday, as higher Brent prices, strong natural gas sales and relatively controlled expenses boosted the company's bottom line.In an evening securities filing, Petroleo Brasileiro SA , as the company is formally known, reported a quarterly net income of 42.855 billion reais ($8.29 billion), up from a loss in the same period…
Petrobras Sees No Need to Cut Oil Production
Brazil's state-run Petrobras sees no need for cuts in oil production, executives say, as the market for its crude remains robust in China, while domestic demand for fuel picks up amid social distancing fatigue in Latin America's largest economy.On a Friday earnings call with analysts, executives credited the company's strong relationship with independent refineries in China's Shandong Province…
Big Oil Stuns Brazil in Back-to-back Auction Flops
Major global oil firms snubbed a second Brazilian oil auction in a row on Thursday, passing up 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 went to Petrobras, as the Brazilian state-run firm is known, and Chinese state firm CNODC, a unit of China National Petroleum Corp, which offered the minimum bid.
Moment of Truth for Brazilian Oil Auction is Here
Executives from many of the world's biggest oil companies gathered in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday to compete in Brazil's long-awaited transfer-of-rights (TOR) oil bidding round, the largest offer of crude and gas reserves in the nation's history.Lawyers and executives have been working feverishly in recent weeks to sort out terms of consortia that will place bids on the four blocks…
Petrobras Posts Another Major Production Boost
Brazilian state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA posted a significant production boost in the third quarter, as heavy investments in its deepwater, pre-salt zone showed signs of paying off.Investors and analysts have been watching the firm's production figures closely in recent quarters, and the company's ability to swiftly boost output is key to its current strategy.In a Thursday securities filing…
Brazil Oil Bidding Points to Future Auction Success
Brazil's mines and energy minister said the positive results of Thursday's round of bidding for the country's offshore oil blocks point to successful auctions later this year of the so-called Transfer of Rights area and pre-salt oil find.Minister Bento Albuquerque said that Thursday's auction surpassed expectations, following the conclusion of bidding.Oil regulator ANP said that the auction would result in cumulative bonus payments of 8.9 billion reais ($2.16 billion).($1 = 4
BP Wins Offshore Oil Block in Brazil with $75 mln Bid
BP PLC won the production and exploration rights for Brazil's offshore S-M-1500 block in the Santos Basin on Thursday, paying the government a signing bonus of roughly 308 million reais ($74.6 million).Relatively major blocks in the Santos Basin received no offers in the bidding round in Rio de Janeiro, although there was significant interest in the nearby Campos Basin.(Reporting by Gram Slattery, Marta Nogueira and Rodrigo Viga Gaier; editing by Jason Neely)
Brazil Oil Production Jumps 7% in July
Brazilian oil production increased to 2.77 million barrels per day (bpd) on average in July, up 7% from a year earlier, local oil and fuels regulator ANP said on Monday.Natural gas production also increased by 7% in July from the same month last year to 124 million cubic meters, ANP said.(Reporting by Marta Nogueira; Editing by Peter Cooney)
Brazil, Petrobras Paving Way for Giant Tender
Brazil's government will announce "within days" a deal with state-run oil company Petrobras to settle a multi-billion-dollar contract dispute and clear the way to auction billions of barrels of oil off of the Brazilian coast, a minister said on Monday.Economy Minister Paulo Guedes told journalists that his team sat down recently with officials at the Mines and Energy Ministry, and that "the deal is done."Reuters reported earlier on Monday that Petroleo Brasileiro SA…
Petrobras Will Pay to End Whale Park Dispute
Brazil state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA said on Thursday it had concluded a long-running dispute with the country's ANP petroleum regulator, agreeing to pay 3.5 billion reais ($940 million) to end an oil-royalty spat.Dating back to 2014, the dispute over the so-called Whale Park offshore oilfields arose after the ANP decided to unify the Jubarte, Cachalote, Caxaréu, Baleia Franca, Baleia Anã, Baleia Azul and Pirambú Fields, requiring Petrobras, as the company is know
Petrobras Wants to Operate 3 Blocks in 6th Pre-salt
Brazil state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA said on Monday it plans to exercise its preferential rights to operate three blocks in the next pre-salt deep water auction, due later this year, under a production-sharing contract scheme.In a statement, Petrobras said it had told the National Council for Energy Policy (CNPE) that it wanted to operate, with a 30 percent stake, the Aram, Norte de Brava and Sudoeste de Sagitário blocks.
A 'Chicago Boy' Takes the Reins at Petrobras
Depending on who you ask, Roberto Castello Branco, the new chief executive of Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro SA, will either save the indebted oil major - or strip it to the bone.Tapped by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who took power on Tuesday, Castello Branco had said in a June newspaper column he thought Petrobras - as the company is known - should be privatized, a hardcore proposal…
Fire Erupts at Manguinhos Refinery
A fire broke out at the Manguinhos oil refinery in Rio de Janeiro on Monday, according to the local fire department, and television footage showed extensive plumes of smoke and fire spewing into the air.Firemen were called at 1:40 p.m. local time, the department said. About 90 minutes later the fire had subsided, but authorities continued to work to put it out completely, according to the department.Refit…
Brazil Council Approves Sixth Round Pre-salt Auction
The Brazilian energy advisory council on Monday approved the sixth-round auction for Brazil's coveted pre-salt offshore oil area to be held next year, the energy ministry said.The auction will include the two new blocks of Southwest Sagittarius and Brava Norte in addition to the previously considered three of Aram, Southern Cross and Boomerang, the ministry said. Southern Cross is a…
Bolsonaro Approached Castello Branco About Being Petrobras CEO
Brazilian President-elect Jair Bolsonaro's team approached Roberto Castello Branco, a former board member at state-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras), about the possibility of his becoming its new chief executive, two people with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.The sources, who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter publicly, said Castello Branco initially turned down the idea.
Petrobras Fires up Production in Offshore Lula Field
State-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro said on Wednesday it had started production on its eighth platform in the offshore Lula field, Brazil's most productive, as it ramps up output from the Santos basin in the coveted pre-salt oil play.Platform 69 will be able to produce up to 150,000 barrels of oil per day and 6 million cubic meters of gas from the field, which already accounts for 30 percent of production in Brazil…
