The average price of gasoline at Petrobras' refineries has dropped around 20% in November as of Tuesday but that decrease will not hit retail prices anytime soon. The state-run petroleum company made the announcement Monday, but gas stations were reluctant to follow suit, at least not at the same level.
Over the past few years, Brazil has held several very successful oil auctions under production-sharing contracts in its pre-salt layer, attracting major oil companies to its prized offshore oil area.
Oil prices slumped up to nearly 8% to the lowest in more than a year on Friday, posting the seventh consecutive weekly loss, amid intensifying fears of a supply glut even as major producers consider cutting output. Oil supply, led by U.S. producers, is growing faster than demand and to prevent a build-up of unused fuel such as the one that emerged in 2015, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is expected to start trimming output after a meeting on Dec. 6.
Crude prices hit their lowest level since 2017 on Tuesday, sliding further into a bear market after President Donald Trump signaled the US would not punish Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, over the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in its Istanbul consulate.
Premier Oil said it expected full-year production to come in at the low end of a previously announced 80,000 to 85,000 barrels per day range. The company, with interests in the Falkland Islands and which has been focusing on cutting debts, also said its debt pile would shrink to US$ 2.4 billion by the year-end.
Oil markets on Friday remained weak as rising supply and concerns of an economic slowdown pressured prices, with U.S. crude now down by 20% since early October. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were at US$ 61.63 per barrel.
Tesla's competition is about to get more crowded next year with many legacy automakers and luxury brands launching a record number of battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.
President Donald Trump should stop interfering in the Middle East if he wants the price of oil to stop rising, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh was quoted as saying on Wednesday.
Brent crude breached US$ 81 a barrel on Monday — its highest level in nearly four years — on the back of a tightening oil market and OPEC leaders signaling they won't be immediately boosting output. Global benchmark Brent crude rose as high as US$ 81.39 a barrel, its strongest level since Nov. 21, 2014.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said that the U.S. likely surpassed Saudi Arabia and Russia earlier this year to become the world’s top crude oil producer. The EIA based its disclosure on preliminary estimates in its Short Term Energy Outlook which is released every month.