Judge rules Petrobas suit can proceed
A US judge has ruled that an investor lawsuit against Petrobas over securities losses stemming from a multi- billion-dollar bribery scheme will go forward, dismissing some but not all claims in the case.
Petrobas
Petrobas FPSO docks in Brazil
The second of identical twin FPSOs for national operator Petrobas docked in Brazil this week.
Opinion: Next year we will be millionaires!
As the balloon bursts in Brazil and the party is over a lot of companies will be hit.
Petrobras said to attract Mitsui in sale of Brazil gas pipelines
Petroleo Brasileiro SA has drawn interest from Mitsui & Co. in the sale of a package of natural gas pipelines, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Petrobras, as the Brazilian state oil company is known, has been marketing the sale of 49 percent of its stake in the pipelines, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a private process. Mitsui is seen as a natural buyer of the assets because it’s already a partner with Petrobras on gas pipelines, two of the people said. Still, talks between the companies are at a preliminary stage, the people said.
Production halted on four platforms after pipeline leak
Petrobas has halted production from four oil platforms off the coast of Brazil after a leak of about 7,000 litres of oil. The leak, which was believed to be coming from a pipeline linking them, was confirmed by the country's oil regulator ANP. The incident occurred in the Camorim field, 16 kilometres off the coast of the city of Aracaju.
Petrobras lost $2.1 billion to graft
Brazil’s national oil company said a graft scandal cost it 6.2 billion reais ($2.1 billion) after a five-month internal debate that shut off access to bond markets, cost the chief executive her job and destabilized the country’s politics. By disclosing the charge in its first audited results since August, Petrobras opens the way for renewed access to financial markets. Shares of the world’s most-indebted oil company rose in New York even after it reported a net loss of 21.6 billion reais for 2014. “However the market interprets the number, actually arriving at a number creates more credibility,” Rafael Cortez, a political analyst at Tendencias Consultoria, said by phone from Sao Paulo.
Petrobas makes gas discovery in Amazon basin
Petrobas has made a new gas discovery in the Amazon basin. The company said it was made while drilling of well 1-BRSA-1293-AM took place. The site, informally known as Jusante do Aneba, was drillinh to a total depth of 2.040 metres.
Treasurer held in Petrobas corruption case
Police detained the treasurer of Brazil’s governing party in a wide-ranging investigation into corruption at state-run oil giant Petrobras. The Workers’ Party said later he had asked to resign from the post. Joao Vaccari Neto was detained in Sao Paulo as he was heading out for an early morning jog, police told a news conference in the southern city of Curitiba, where the investigation is being led. An arrest warrant also was issued for Mr Vaccari’s sister-in-law, and his wife was questioned in connection with a series of unidentified deposits in her account that investigators suspect might be related to a bribery scheme at Petrobras.
Petrobras board to review delayed 2014 audited results April 22
Petroleo Brasileiro SA plans to release 2014 audited financial results April 22 after a five-month delay, averting a potential acceleration of debt payments. The Rio de Janeiro-based oil producer, at the center of Brazil’s largest corruption scandal, said Monday it will present the long-delayed financial results to its board and release them after approval. “The company expects to release these financial statements after the meeting, subject to a decision by the Board of Directors,” Petrobras said in a regulatory filing.
Subsea 7 wins Petrobas contract
Subsea 7 has been awarded a contract worth $200million for the installation of flexible lines for Petrobas’ projects. The contract will used Subsea 7’s construction and flex-lay vessel Seven Sea on a day-rate basis. The vessel has been operating for Petrobas under a similar day-rate contract since 2013 and will commence the new contract in direct continuation to the current one.
Protests seekto oust President after Petrobas scandal
Nationwide demonstrations calling for the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff have swept Brazil for the second day in less than a month. Turnout at the latest protests appeared down, however, prompting questions about the future of the movement. A poll published over the weekend suggested the majority of Brazilians supported opening impeachment proceedings against Ms Rousseff, whose second term in office has been buffeted by a corruption scandal at the nation’s largest company, oil giant Petrobras, as well as a stalled economy, a sliding currency and political infighting. Only 13% of survey respondents evaluated her administration positively.
Petrobas sells of Argentina assets
Petrobas has sold off assets in Argentina in a $101million deal with Compania General de Combustibles. The company will sell all its assets in the Austral Basin, in the Santa Cruz province and is the first disposal of a Petrobas asset under the 2015-2016 divestment plan.
Engineering firm files for bankruptcy after Petrobas scandal
Engineering company Galvao Engenharia has filed for bankruptcy following the Petrobas scandal. The firm had its payments cut off by the state-run oil company following an alleged corruption scheme. However Grupo Galvao, the firm's parent company, said it had no part in the alleged corruption involving Petrobas.
Petrobas appoints new chairman amidst growing unrest
Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobas has appointed a new chairman. The company named Luciano Coutinho, head of the country's state development bank BNDES, as a replacement for Guido Mantega.
S&P Cuts Petrobras’s credit-rating outlook amid corruption probe
Petroleo Brasileiro SA had the outlook on its credit rating cut by Standard & Poor’s as the oil producer faces difficulties in financing investments amid Brazil’s largest-ever corruption probe. S&P cut the outlook on Petrobras’s BBB- rating, the lowest investment grade, to negative from stable, according to a statement Monday. The announcement comes a month after Moody’s Investors Service chopped its rating on the state-run oil producer by two levels to junk grade.
Protests in Brazil amid fall-out from Petrobas scandal
Hundreds of thousands of Brazilians have marched peacefully in more than 150 cities around the country to demand President Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment and to criticise government corruption amid a sprawling graft inquiry at state-run oil firm Petrobras. The biggest of the protests, held on the 30th anniversary of Brazil’s return to democracy after a long military regime, took place in Sao Paulo, an opposition stronghold where some 210,000 gathered on a main avenue, according to the polling institute Datafolha, one of the only entities in Brazil that makes scientific crowd estimates. Large rallies were also seen in the capital Brasilia, the southern city of Porto Alegre and in Rio de Janeiro.
Brazil’s attorney general urges Supreme Court approval for Petrobas investigation
Brazil’s attorney general has asked the nation’s Supreme Court for permission to investigate 54 top political figures for alleged involvement in what prosecutors say is the country’s largest corruption scandal. Attorney general Rodrigo Janot’s request to the top court opens an expansive new phase of the investigation into the kickback scheme at state-run oil company Petrobras. Mr Janot told a group of supporters who had gathered outside his office: “We’re going to work with tranquillity, with balance. Those who must pay will pay. “We’re going to investigate. This will be a long process, we’re just now beginning. The investigation begins and we’ll follow it through to the end.”
HSBC pitches Petrobras-tainted oil rig bonds nobody wants
In the months since Brazil’s largest bribery scandal broke, bond investors have fled companies tied to the alleged kickbacks. They’ve been far too hasty, according to HSBC Holdings Plc and Mizuho Securities USA. Odebrecht Offshore Drilling and Queiroz Galvao Oil & Gas Constellation are a case in point. Their securities have plunged at least 27% since November 13, when federal police said they found “strong evidence” that at least seven builders, including the parent companies of the two oil-rig providers, formed a cartel to win public contracts. To Mizuho’s John Haugh, the bonds are now a buy because the terms that govern them will likely shield the issuers from any punishment the parent companies may face if they’re found guilty of bribing Petroleos Brasileiro SA, the state oil company.
Petrobras top management resigns in Brazil corruption case
Petroleo Brasileiro SA Chief Executive Officer Maria das Gracas Foster and five of her top managers resigned amid a corruption probe that’s wiped out billions of dollars of the oil producer’s value and threatens Brazil’s economic revival. Shares retreated after a two-day rally. State-run Petrobras’s board of directors will meet Friday to elect replacements for Foster and her management team, it said in a one-sentence statement Wednesday.
Well Cost Reduction Programme saves Petrobras $1 billion
Petrobas said it has saved around $1billion in cost savings, design optimisation and productivity gains since it launched its Well Cost Reduction Programme in 2013. The company said these savings are expected to increase further as growing numbers of production development wells are constructed in pre-salt areas. Savings made in 2013 were $344 million, rising to US$1 billion by the end of 2014.
Petrobas FPSO moved to fitting-out yard
Petrobas has moved the hull of P-66, the first of a series of eight sister FPSOs (floating production, storage and offloading units) being constructed to meet oil production demands offshore Brazil. It is also the first FPSO hull completely built in the country.
BG Group and Petrobas submit DoC for Iara
A Declaration of Commerciality (DoC) has been submitted to the Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels for three separate oil and gas accumulations in Brazil. BG Group said it had, along with its partner Petrobas, submitted the application which it believes is another major milestone in the first phase of development of BG Group’s interests in the region. The Iara area is located approximately 250 kilometres off the coast of Rio De Janeiro in water depths of around 2,270 metres.