Just as we see Russia combining military and energy deals in Venezuela and Cuba, China is doing the same thing with both Venezuela and Brazil, as the following report details.  China has increased its importation of oil from Brazil, is cementing agreements to further that trend, and is doing military and oil deals with Venezuela as well.    With both Russia and China combining military and energy policy for national security purposes,  Americans must ask what its government is doing to secure its energy future in the face of …

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The discovery of enormous oil supplies in the Santos basin offshore Brazil that lie deep under a salt layer is the most optimistic development for future oil supplies perhaps in decades, eclipsing the GOM Thunderhorse or Jack discoveries or the African offshore discoveries.  But since the price of oil has slipped below $70 these Brazilian prospects, and the outlook for Petrobras (PBR), the state-controlled oil company slated to benefit from them, is much more questionable as discussed in the essay below published at Seeking Alpha.   Brazil has published …

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Brazil’s Tupi field in the Santos basin is a potentially enormous discovery.  Will its flows of oil be large enough to change the view of analysts who have foreseen a sharp drop in global oil production starting some time after 2010?    The report cited below from The Financial Times (8/4/08) sheds some light on the question by revealing Petrobras’ latest thinking.   From a strategic viewpoint, PBR has announced that it will re-deploy its skilled engineering personnel from various projects abroad to concentrate their efforts on Tupi.   This indicates …

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Somebody gets it at The Washington Post.  Gal Luft makes perfect sense in this piece about how four other countries are becoming energy independent while the U.S. just plays silly games.  He left out the fifth country doing it, Denmark, which is going down a similar road to Israel’s except using wind instead of solar to generate the electricity.  ENERGIZED Iran and Brazil Can Do It. So Can We . Sunday, July 6, 2008; Page B01 When the founding fathers declared our independence, they could not have imagined …

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  By Joe Carroll May 15 (Bloomberg) — Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Brazil’s state-controlled oil company, leased about 80 percent of the world’s deepest-drilling offshore rigs to explore prospects including the Western Hemisphere’s biggest discovery in decades. Petrobras, as the Rio de Janeiro-based company is known, is hiring rigs that can drill in at least 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) of water, Chief Executive Officer Jose Sergio Gabrielli said in an interview last week. The world has 21 such vessels, according to Rigzone.com, which tracks the offshore …

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By Jeb Blount and Carla Simoes

May 15 (Bloomberg) — Brazil won’t auction new oil properties until at least 2009 because there is a lack of equipment necessary to expand exploration, Mines and Energy Minister Edison Lobao said.

Oil companies need to start work on the leases they already have before Brazil can contemplate its planned Round 10 auction or revive its stalled Round 8 auction, Lobao said today in an interview in Brasilia. State-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, has seen timetables broken by platform shortages.

To try and reduce …

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About the only factor that has disturbed me about PetroBras, which I own, is the potential conflict between the interests of shareholders and those of state of Brazil.  Here is news that Pres. Lula is urging management to side with the country in just such a conflict.   The issue is how PBR will obtain the massive number of new deep sea rigs it will need to expoit its new offshore discoveries.  I must say, this is a nice problem for a company to have. Here is the full article …

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By Yuji Okada and Shigeru Sato April 7 (Bloomberg) — Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Brazil’s state-controlled oil company, will invest $15 billion on overseas oil projects, aiming to double its crude oil production to capture growing demand in Asia and South America. The Rio de Janeiro-based company plans to expand its oil output to 4.15 million barrels a day by 2015 from the current 2 million barrels, Jose …

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Bonanza for Drilling and Service  companies
Tue Mar 11, 2008 9:00am EDT

HOUSTON, March 11 (Reuters) - Deep below the ocean floor off Brazil is Tupi, possibly the largest offshore oil field ever discovered.

Brazil controls Tupi, but getting crude oil out will create billions in revenue for oilfield service companies like Halliburton Co (HAL.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Transocean Inc (RIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research) that have the expertise needed to tap the extremely complex reservoir.

Brazilian state oil company Petrobras’ (PETR4.SA: Quote, Profile, Research) …

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Oil and Gas Journal (2/25/08) reports that Frank Chapman, CEO of BG Group, which holds a 25% interest in the Tupi field has estimated that hydrocarbons in place could be 12 - 30 billion boe or more, up from its own previous estimate of 1.7 - 10 billion.   Petrobras (PBR), which did not comment on BG’s estimate, reported in late 2007 the discovery of as much as 8 billion bbls of light crude in the Tupi field off Rio de Janeiro. 

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SAO PAULO, Brazil: Brazil’s state oil company said Monday it has discovered a huge natural gas reserve off the coast of Rio de Janeiro that could be as big as the recently discovered Tupi oil field.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA said in a news release posted on its Web site that the potential reserves in the new field were located about 5,100 meters (16,800 feet) below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.

Petrobras did not provide any figures on the size of the reserve, but said “its structure could have dimensions that …

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Below is a reasonable statement of the bull case for PetroBras, the giant Brazilian oil company.  Stated simply - the off-shore oil elephant sized discoveries that PBR made last year, combined with its record of excellent management, mean that the company may well become the largest and most successful oil company in the world in a decade or two. 

The other side of the argument includes the fact that the stock is not cheap on current fundamentals.   More importantly, though, is the fact that the hydrocarbons that may transform the company …

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Brazil’s state oil company, Petrobras, expects domestic oil and gas production to rise more than 14 percent next year from the average so far this year as platforms that had come on stream with delays in 2006 reach capacity and others kick in. Petrobras (PETR4.SA: Quote, Profile, Research)(PBR.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said in a statement output should rise to 2.36 million barrels per day of oil equivalent. It did not provide separate figures for expected …

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The Oil & Gas Journal (12/17/07) reported that PBR intends to develop the giant Tupi field as follows:

1.  100,000 b/d early production system in place by 2011.

2.  5 - 8 billion barrels recoverable oil estimated.

3. It will take 2 years to create a Tupi development plan. The company is in the process of securing and building rigs now.  Tupi development costs are not included in PBR’s $112.4 B capital budget for 2008 - 2012.

4. Brazil aspired to produce 4.5 mb/d by 2015 with Tupi providing 2.2  mb/d.

5. Brazilian consumption is …

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Massive deep-water oil find in Brazil challenges technology By Jack Chang | McClatchy Newspapers Posted on Saturday, December 1, 2007 MCT View larger image RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — This country, famed for its development of sugar-cane-produced ethanol, soon could become one of the world’s great oil powers — if its state-controlled energy company, Petrobras, can tap a potentially massive deposit beneath the South Atlantic Ocean. Experts …

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