Brazil’s top labor court on Thursday ruled in favor of workers at Petrobras in a wage dispute that could cost the world’s most indebted oil company up to 17 billion Reais (US$ 4.5 billion). Petrobras may still appeal the Superior Labor Court’s ruling in the case, brought by oil workers seeking more pay.
Brazil’s move to ease rules forcing oil producers to buy from domestic suppliers means Latin America’s top producer will be able to sustain output of 5 million barrels per day (pbd) by the mid-2020s, compared to just 3.7 million bpd under prior rules, consultancy Wood Mackenzie said in a report on Wednesday.
Mexican oil output could return to 2 million barrels per day by about 2022 if the next government pursues plans to auction off development blocs to private investors, Energy Minister Pedro Joaquin Coldwell announced. Mexico will elect a new president on July 1 but the front-runner in opinion polls, leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has threatened to delay opening up the energy sector to private investment.
The most prominent driver of oil prices over the next two years is not likely to come from OPEC, Iran or Venezuela, but rather in the shape of a shipping revolution, analysts have warned. New rules coming into force in approximately 18 months' time are seen as a source of great concern for some of the world's biggest oil producers.
Benchmark oil contract Brent North Sea hit its highest level since late 2014 on Thursday, breaching US$ 80 per barrel, with some market players predicting it could rise all the way to US$ 100. Higher oil prices, in turn, pushed the shares of energy firms in European stock markets higher, helping London's FTSE to set a new all-time high, and the Paris CAC to establish a fresh 2018 peak.
Geopolitics has taken over the oil market, driving oil prices up to three-year highs. The inventory surplus has vanished, and more outages could push oil prices up even higher. Yet, there are some signs that demand is starting to take a hit as oil closes in on $80 per barrel.
Oil firms, including Norway’s Statoil, U.S.’ Anadarko Petroleum Corp, China’s CNOOC and Malaysia’s Petronas, have shown interest in Argentina’s auction this year of offshore blocks for exploration and production, the country’s energy minister said.
Oil prices rose for the fourth straight day on Monday to hit levels not seen since late 2014, boosted by the latest trouble for Venezuelan oil company PDVSA and the possibility that the United States could re-impose sanctions on Iran.
Brazil’s Raizen Combustiveis SA agreed to buy downstream assets in Argentina from Royal Dutch Shell for US$ 950 million, according to a securities filing on Tuesday. Raízen Combustiveis, a joint venture between Brazil´s Cosan SA Indústria e Comércio and Shell, will have a 20% market share in fuel distribution in Argentina.
Italian energy group Edison, part of French utility EDF, is preparing the sale of its oil and gas unit, the latest power producer to abandon fossil fuels to focus on its retail business, four industry sources said, and quoted by Reuters. Its oil and gas unit includes interests in the Falkland Islands.