A decision by the Brazilian environmental authority Ibama allows the state-owned oil company Petrobras $PETR3 (-0,61 %)
$PETR4 (-0,92 %) to take another step towards drilling for oil in a coveted offshore region, albeit with a significant caveat for future permits in the area.

Documents seen by Reuters show that IBAMA chief Rodrigo Agostinho warned in his decision against an "uncontrolled multiplication of future applications for environmental licenses" in the Foz do Amazonas basin, an oil production area near the mouth of the Amazon River.

The area in the northernmost part of Brazil's equatorial zone is considered the most promising oil production area for Petrobras, as it has geological similarities with nearby Guyana, where Exxon Mobil is developing huge fields.

However, Agostinho said it would be difficult to issue exploration licenses "piecemeal and sequentially" in the Foz do Amazonas basin without a complex environmental study (AAAS), which could take years to complete.

IBAMA had previously requested an AAAS to evaluate Petrobras' bid, but Brazil's attorney general issued a legal opinion stating that such an assessment should not prevent the granting of licenses.

Agostinho's new request adds to the uncertainty over future licenses in the region as Brazil prepares to auction new blocks in June.

For now, the head of the agency has approved a proposal from Petrobras on how to help local wildlife in the event of an oil spill in this ecologically sensitive region, which includes extensive coral reefs and indigenous coastal communities.

Petrobras welcomed the decision on Monday, calling it a green light to test its environmental contingency plan, which the company described as the last step before the final decision on whether to grant the license.

The breakthrough for Petrobras is a loss for IBAMA's technical staff, who had signed a document in February stating that the plan to save wildlife in the event of an oil spill had only a "slight chance" of success.

In 2023, IBAMA rejected an application from Petrobras to drill in the area, which the company immediately appealed, further exacerbating divisions in the Brazilian government between environmentalists and allies pushing for oil and gas development in the region.

Brazil's Petrobras $PETR3 (-0,61 %)
$PETR4 (-0,92 %) is planning to return to the Nigerian oil industry and focus on deep-sea exploration, Nigerian media report, citing a senior government official.

"We have not made the best use of the fraternal relationship between us and Brazil, but it is better late than never. The upcoming SDM [Strategic Dialogue Mechanism] is an opportunity to execute sector-specific MoUs and unleash investment flows," Stanley Knwocha, a senior assistant in the Nigerian vice president's office, told Business Day.

"Petrobras is no longer operating in Nigeria, but they are very keen to come back to Nigeria. They said they want frontier areas in deep waters," the Nigerian foreign minister said, as quoted by Reuters. The publication recalls that Brazil was active in the deepwater sector of Nigeria's continental shelf some 30 years ago, but sold its operations there a decade ago to raise money for growth at home.

Petrobras plans to spend USD 111 billion in the five years between 2025 and 2029, of which USD 77 billion is earmarked for oil and gas exploration and production, the company announced late last year.

The new spending is USD 10 billion higher than in an earlier version of the investment plan, which set spending on exploration and production at USD 73 billion. That earlier plan, in turn, was an upward revision from an even earlier version of the 2025-2029 budget, which set out USD 102 billion.

Most of this amount will be spent on domestic activities, where the Brazilian major plans to increase production primarily by increasing exploitation rates in existing fields. However, billions will also be spent on new discoveries and apparently also on international expansion.

Nigeria, meanwhile, is on the lookout for oil investors as the country seeks to significantly increase production. Lagos received good news in this regard earlier this year when Exxon announced plans to spend 1.5 billion dollars on deepwater oil and gas exploration in the West African country.

The Brazilian oil company Petrobras $PETR3 (-0,61 %)
$PETR4 (-0,92 %) reported a net profit of 35.2 billion reais ($6.21 billion) for the first quarter, an increase of 48.6% on the previous year.

This was boosted by one-off events, while a dividend payout of $2.1 billion was announced at the same time.

Without one-off events, including fluctuations in the exchange rate between the real and the dollar, the state oil company's net profit would have fallen by 12.1% to around 23.6 billion reais in the same period.

Petrobras CEO Magda Chambriard said in a statement that the company's financial and operating results were "robust".

The oil producer's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were 61 billion reais, an increase of 1.7% compared to the previous year. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted EBITDA was 62.3 billion reais, Petrobras said.

Analysts had expected real EBITDA of 62.9 billion.

In a separate announcement, Petrobras said its board approved the payment of 11.72 billion reais (about $2.1 billion) in dividends and interest on equity to shareholders, equivalent to about 0.91 reals per share.

The amount came as capital expenditure, measured by capex, which is the focus of market participants, rose to $4.1 billion, up from around $3 billion the previous year, the earnings report showed.

"These investments are focused on pre-salt projects, particularly in the Buzios and Atapu fields," the company's chief financial officer, Fernando Melgarejo, said in the statement, adding that Petrobras had invested 22% of its guidance for the year.

Petrobras' investments have received particular attention from investors after coming in above the company's 2024 estimates, leading to fears of potentially lower dividends.

Net revenues in the quarter rose 4.6% to 123.1 billion reais, Petrobras said, slightly below the 124.9 billion reais expected by analysts.

The company had already published an operating report last month that showed a 0.2% decline in oil, gas and liquefied natural gas production to 2.77 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Beijing is considering increasing imports for fear of Trump's influence on Arab producers; Brazil is also seeking reciprocal investments in shipyards.

The increasing trade tensions between China and the United States are opening up new opportunities for Brazil to expand its oil exports to the Chinese market. In recent weeks, the Brazilian government has received requests from Beijing to strengthen its role as a supplier of crude oil to China. The reason for this interest is the growing unrest over the veiled threats between Washington and Beijing.

On the Brazilian side, there is even hope that a memorandum of understanding could be signed during President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's visit to Beijing this week. It is expected that the presence of Mining and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira in the presidential delegation will add weight to the Brazilian strategy of pushing for an agreement or at least a framework between the two countries.

The issue was already raised during a recent visit by Brazilian officials to China to lay the groundwork for President Lula's trip. The CEO of Petrobras, Magda Chambriard, and the President of Transpetro, Sergio Bacci, took part in these talks in Beijing. Ms. Chambriard took the opportunity to encourage Chinese officials to visit Brazilian shipyards.

"We are here to propose the expansion of the Brazil-China partnership in oil and gas investment. We see opportunities for Chinese companies to work with Brazilian shipyards and we believe that closer cooperation will bring benefits to both sides," Ms. Chambriard said at the opening of the meeting.

While Petrobras $PETR3 (-0,61 %)
$PETR4 (-0,92 %) has publicly announced Ms. Chambriard's activities in Beijing, overall efforts to engage with China on energy issues have been handled discreetly by the presidential palace. On April 30, Lula met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Brasília, but this meeting was not on his official agenda.

Instead, the presidential press office (Secom) only named Ambassador Celso Amorim as the person who met with Lula that day. According to government sources, the omission was made at the request of Chinese officials, who did not want to provoke any retaliatory measures from Washington in view of the closer relations between Beijing and Brazil.

China has emerged as a global powerhouse in shipbuilding, in stark contrast to Brazil's flagging industry, which has struggled since the Car Wash corruption investigation. Critics have also pointed to local content requirements as an obstacle to competitiveness. However, the Lula government is attempting to revive investment in the sector by restructuring the Merchant Marine Fund (FMM). Transpetro alone has announced plans to acquire 25 new ships.

The Brazilian plan to revitalize shipping also includes the construction of floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) units. If the plans are confirmed, the visits by Chinese investors would probably take place in the days leading up to the BRICS summit in early July.

It is expected that the owners of large Chinese shipyards will assess the condition of the existing shipyard infrastructure in Brazil.

To sweeten the deal, the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) is offering special credit lines to facilitate access to the fund for Chinese companies. Officials argue that these financing terms could be as attractive as those offered by Chinese lenders by meeting the requirements for local content in the construction of ships.

Beijing's strategic interest in Brazilian oil is not new. Chinese companies have participated in pre-salt auctions before, bidding on oil volumes managed by the state-owned PPSA. Today, oil is one of Brazil's three most important exports to China alongside soybeans and iron ore.

Petrobras, Transpetro and the Chinese embassy did not immediately comment.

Petrobras $PETR3 (-0,61 %)
$PETR4 (-0,92 %) has discovered high-quality oil without impurities in the pre-salt of the Santos Basin during an exploratory drilling in the Aram block off the Brazilian coast.

The well, 3-BRSA-1396D-SPS, is located 248 km from the city of Santos-SP at a water depth of 1,952 meters.

The well has been completed with an oil bearing interval confirmed by electrical logs, gas detections and fluid samples.

The Aram consortium will commence laboratory analysis to characterize the conditions of the reservoirs and fluids encountered, which will enable the evaluation of the area's potential. In addition, two further wells will be drilled and a drill stem test will be carried out as part of the Appraisal Plan (AP).

The AP has a deadline of 2027 and additional data acquisition activities may be carried out, according to the planning and contractual obligations established with the National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP).

The Aram block was acquired in March 2020 in the sixth ANP bidding round under the Production Sharing Regime with Pré-Sal Petróleo S.A. (PPSA) as manager.

Petrobras is the operator of the block and holds an 80% stake, together with CNPC (20%).

State-owned company cuts refinery price by R$ 0.16 per liter in light of falling global oil costs.

Following the surprise announcement by OPEC+ at the weekend that it would increase oil production from June, the Brazilian state oil company Petrobras $PETR3 (-0,61 %)
$PETR4 (-0,92 %) acted quickly and lowered domestic diesel prices. On Monday (5th), the company announced a 4.66% cut in the price of diesel, reducing the price per liter by R$0.16 from R$3.43 to R$3.27. The cartel's move put downward pressure on global oil prices and gave Petrobras room to adjust domestic prices.

This is the third reduction in the price of diesel by Petrobras since the beginning of April, bringing the cumulative reduction to 12.6%. The first adjustment took place on April 1 with a decrease of 4.57%, followed by a reduction of 3.38% on April 17. Petrol prices, on the other hand, have remained unchanged since July 2024. The new diesel price comes into force on Tuesday (6th).

Despite the recent price cuts, market research companies estimate that Petrobras' diesel price is still above international parity prices. According to StoneX, the price of Petrobras diesel is currently R$0.34 per liter above the world market price, i.e. 10.5% above parity. There is a similar discrepancy of R$ 0.30 per liter for gasoline.

The Brazilian Association of Fuel Importers (Abicom) estimates the Petrobras diesel price at 5% above parity, or R$ 0.17 per liter, and the gasoline price at 8% above parity (R$ 0.24). The Brazilian Center for Infrastructure Studies (CBIE) estimates the premium for diesel at 3.7 % (R$ 0.12 per liter), while gasoline is trading 2.1 % below the international level.

Brent crude for July delivery closed at $60.23 on Monday, down 1.72%, while August contracts fell 1.04% to $59.89. Market forecasts for Brent are averaging between $65 and $70 per barrel this year. Given the less optimistic outlook, Petrobras ordinary shares fell 2.81% to R$31.77 on the B3 exchange. The preference shares ended the trading session down 3.73% at R$ 29.66, their lowest closing price since 2025.

"Taking into account the mandatory blend of 86% regular diesel (Diesel A) and 14% biodiesel for the production of retail diesel (Diesel B), Petrobras' share of the consumer price at the pump will now be R$2.81 per liter, a reduction of R$0.14 per liter," the company said in a statement.

Petrobras' move comes in the wake of OPEC+'s decision, announced on Saturday (3), to increase production by 411,000 barrels per day from next month. Although anticipated for some time, the increase was implemented earlier than expected. The cartel is due to meet again on June 1, when members are expected to set production targets for July.

In a report, Goldman Sachs assumes that OPEC+ will decide on a further production increase at this meeting. The bank cited better-than-expected economic data suggesting that a potential drop in demand may not be significant enough to justify a supply cut by the cartel.

Goldman Sachs also noted that Petrobras' latest move is another step towards aligning domestic fuel prices with international benchmarks. However, with prices still above parity, the bank sees scope for further downward adjustments.

According to circles close to Petrobras, the price reductions for diesel fuel have not been fully felt by consumers at the pump. In April, the company's two price cuts totaled R$0.29 per liter, but data from the National Petroleum Agency (ANP) shows that average pump prices fell by only R$0.13. With Monday's cut, wholesale diesel prices have fallen by R$0.45 per liter since April, which analysts estimate could mean a drop of R$0.39 per liter for consumers.

The Fecombustíveis association, which represents fuel distributors, emphasized that pricing is deregulated throughout the supply chain in Brazil. The association explained that neither it nor its 34 affiliated unions conduct price surveys or monitor the market: "Distributors are completely dependent on the pricing decisions of upstream companies and must also evaluate their own administrative costs according to their business structure."

Earlier this month, Petrobras increased kerosene prices for traders by 0.31%. The company usually adjusts kerosene prices on the first day of each month in accordance with contractual provisions.

The second module of the natural gas processing plant (UPGN) in the greater Rio de Janeiro area, which is operated by the Brazilian energy giant Petrobras $PETR3 (-0,61 %)
$PETR4 (-0,92 %) has commenced commercial operation.

Petrobras has been operating the UPGN, which is part of the Boaventura Energy Complex (BEC) in Itaboraí, in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region, commercially since November 2024.

On September 11, 2024, Petrobras announced that procedures had been initiated for the commissioning of what it claims to be Brazil's largest natural gas processing plant. The National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) had granted approval for the industrial operation of the plant two days earlier.

The plant is part of the Route 3 Integrated Project (PIR3), which will enable the flow of up to 18 million cubic meters (cbm)/day and the processing of up to 21 million cbm/day of natural gas from pre-salt fields in the Santos Basin via the Route 3 gas pipeline through UPGN. The aim is to expand the supply of natural gas to the domestic market and reduce dependence on imports.

The project is part of the integrated gas flow system of the Santos Basin, which receives gas from fields such as Tupi, Búzios and Sapinhoá, among others. Regardless of the connection point, the gas from the production fields can be transported to different processing units, which means that the natural gas produced at UPGN is part of the company's overall supply.

The PIR3 project is described as strategic for Petrobras, as it is expected to increase the supply of natural gas to the Brazilian market and generate profits for the company. The gas, described as abundant, produces three products for the market after processing: natural gas (NG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG or cooking gas) and C5+ (a raw material for the petrochemical industry and fuel production).

In addition to the natural gas pipeline and the UPGN, the Brazilian company says it is working on two gas-fired thermoelectric plants for the auctions planned by the electricity sector, as well as other refinery plants for the production of fuels and lubricants.

Petrobras announced the start of commercial operation of the first module of the UPGN, with a processing capacity of 10.5 million cubic meters of natural gas per day, on November 11, 2024. At the time of the announcement, it was assumed that the second module would go into operation by the end of the year.

Yesterday, the energy company announced that the second module of the UPGN has commenced commercial operation. Together with the first module, the total processing capacity of the plant is now 21 million cubic meters per day.

The state-owned Brazilian oil company Petrobras $PETR3 (-0,61 %)
$PETR4 (-0,92 %) reported oil, gas and liquefied natural gas production of 2.77 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) in the first quarter on Tuesday, a decrease of 0.2% compared to the previous year.

Petrobras' oil production in Brazil fell 1% year-on-year to 2.21 million barrels per day (bpd), the company said, adding that the floating production vessel Almirante Tamandare (FPSO) started production in the country's Buzios field in February.

"The commissioning of the Almirante Tamandare floating production vessel is of strategic importance for Petrobras and represents a sustainable expansion of production," Renata Baruzzi, head of engineering, technology and innovation, said in Petrobras' sales and production report.

The company's results were in line with the annual forecast, which envisages a 4% deviation from the production target of 2.8 million boed.

Total sales of oil, gas and derivatives reached 2.86 million boed, the company said, representing a decrease of 1.9% compared to the first quarter of 2024.

Total exports fell by 10.4% year-on-year to around 760,000 bpd, the company said.

While exports in general declined, the share of oil exports to Asia (excluding China) increased from 10% to 33%.

In the first quarter, the company concluded an agreement with the Indian Bharat Petroleum Corporation $BPCL for the export of up to 6 million barrels of oil per year from 2025.

"The agreement strengthens the commercial relationship between Petrobras and the Indian refining sector and underlines the importance of India as a market for Brazilian oil," Petrobras said in the press release.

Brazilian state-owned energy giant Petrobras $PETR3 (-0,61 %)
$PETR4 (-0,92 %) is seeking to attract new Chinese investment in Brazil's oil and gas sector, particularly in the marine sector, the company announced on Tuesday during the visit of CEO Magda Chambriard to Asia.

Chambriard and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's chief of staff, Rui Costa, met with Chinese businessmen and government officials in Beijing on Monday, the company said in a statement.

According to the company, they gave an overview of Petrobras' activities and emphasized the potential for the expansion of shipyards in Latin America's largest country.

"We are here to propose the expansion of the partnership between Brazil and China in oil and gas investments," Chambriard said.

"We know that there are opportunities for Chinese companies to work with Brazilian shipyards and believe that increased cooperation would be beneficial for our countries," said Chambriard.

Lula, a former metalworker, has made it a priority to create jobs in local shipyards - a sector that has struggled for years - with Petrobras, which has already ordered several new ships.

The oil giant's transportation and logistics subsidiary, Transpetro, plans to put 25 ships into operation by 2030.

The Brazilian mining company Vale $VALE3 (+0,6 %) and the oil and gas giant Petrobras $PETR3 (-0,61 %)
$PETR4 (-0,92 %) have entered into a commercial partnership to test a biofuel blend with 24% second-generation biodiesel on a ship chartered by Vale.

As part of this partnership, the bulk carrier Luise Oldendorff, chartered by Oldendorff Carriers, was fueled with ultra-low sulfur (VLS) B24 on April 22 in Singapore for testing purposes.

The fuel was formulated by Petrobras Singapore in their locally leased tanks by blending 76% fossil fuel oil from the Petrobras system refineries and 24% UCOME, a biofuel derived from the processing of used cooking oil (UCO) purchased in the region.

The product is ISCC EU-certified, meaning it meets the strict sustainability criteria, a requirement that accompanies the entire logistics chain of the biofuel in this process, Petrobras explained.

The biofuel bunker test is a continuation of the strategic partnership between Vale and Petrobras, which focuses on competitiveness and advancing the decarbonization agenda, including the development of sustainable fuels.

"We are increasingly developing sustainable fuels and delivering on our commitment to decarbonize our operations. The partnership with Vale is another achievement in Petrobras' goal to improve the company's production capacity and logistics structure to bring greener products to the market and strengthen our decarbonization strategy," said Petrobras President Magda Chambriard.