Petrobras, Brazil's largest corporation, carried out asset sales and underwent a restructuring this year in response to a severe financial crisis, emerging smaller but with a more profitable and productive future ahead, CEO Aldemir Bendini said Tuesday.
United States crude futures fell sharply on Friday plunging below $36 a barrel for the first time in more than seven years, after a bearish report from the International Energy Agency projected that global energy markets will remain vastly oversupplied for at least the immediate near future.
Petrobras, is not considering selling a 10% stake in its giant Libra offshore oil prospect at this time, Brazil's state-run oil company said on Friday. Petrobras was responding to a report on Tuesday that industry sources had been told by the company that the Libra stake was on offer.
If the newly elected Venezuelan National Assembly votes to cancel that country's program of subsidized oil sales to Caribbean and Central American nations, the United States will not be able to substitute U.S. oil for Venezuelan oil, a senior U.S. official warned this week.
Oil prices slid on Tuesday, approaching seven-year low points on a global supply glut and weak demand growth. Crude futures had already slumped Monday after the OPEC oil producers cartel last week refused to slash record high output, in a market dogged by oversupply.
Oil futures fell sharply Friday, with the U.S. benchmark settling below $40 a barrel after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to keep pumping crude at current production levels despite a global glut.
Maersk Drilling has been awarded a contract for the drillship Maersk Venturer with oil major France's Total. The contract covers one exploration well (estimated duration 120 days) in block 14 offshore Uruguay.
Brazil's economy, in recession since mid-year, contracted 1.7% in the third quarter, compared to the April-June period, and decreased 4.5% relative to the same period in 2014, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, or IBGE, said on Tuesday.
Murilo Ferreira has resigned as chairman of Brazilian state oil company Petrobras, the firm said Monday. Ferreira, the CEO of mining giant Vale, took a leave of absence in September and Luiz Nelson Guedes de Carvalho, who has served as interim chairman since then, will continue in that role for the moment, the company said in a brief statement.
Crude oil just capped off a third straight week of declines, as WTI nears the $40 per barrel threshold. Goldman Sachs is once again raising the possibility of oil dipping into the $20s per barrel. That spells more pain for the energy sector. Many companies have already slashed spending and culled their payrolls, but the total number of job losses continues to climb.