Petrobras NEWS

EPC giant, McDermott has secured a contract from Petrobras to carry out engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of subsea risers and flowlines under Phase-1 of the Sepia field project. McDermott plans to utilize five vessels for the installation phase at ultra-deepwater depths. The engineering work will most likely begin immediately, and McDermott will reflect the contract in the second quarter of 2019 backlog.

A lawsuit which was filed in 2016 by Nigeria, accused many companies of exporting a total of 57 million barrels of crude oil to the United States between 2011 and 2014. The names of the companies also included Eni and Petrobras. However, on Wednesday the Nigerian court ruled out all the claims of the involvement of the subsidiaries of Eni and Petrobras for illegally exporting crude oil to the US.

A number of scheduled and unscheduled stoppages went on to become the reason for Petrobras' profit downturn in the first quarter. Consequently, the company reported a drop in oil production by 3.5%. The production declined to about 2.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day attributed by the maintenance work and other interruptions at platforms and FPSO units in January and February.

In a statement released yesterday, supermajor Chevron informed about concluding the purchase of 112,229-barrel-per-day Pasadena refinery from Petrobras in $350 million. Additionally, Chevron has also acquired Petrobras’ subsidiary, PRSI which operates the refinery and owns PRSI Trading, a trader of crude and refined products. Chevron and Petrobras agreed in January for the sale, but the transfer of the refinery ownership was kept on hold last month.

Malaysian state-owned Petronas has entered into a $1.29 billion deal to buy 50% of Petrobas’ exploration and production rights in Tartaruga Verde field and the Espadarte field. In a statement, the Brazilian state-run firm said that the deal amount will be paid in two installments. The deal is in line with Petrobras’ divestment strategy, under which it has already sold off $11.3 billion worth of assets.

Brazilian state-run Petrobras has agreed to settle a deepwater contract dispute with the Government of Brazil in a whopping compensation amount of $9 billion. The settlement has come as the government seeks to access extra reserves in Transfer of Rights (TOR) area. In 2010, the Brazilian government transferred the 5 billion bbl of undeveloped reserves under the TOR contract to Petrobras for a cost of $8.51/bbl.

Petrobras has sold its 90% stakes in the gas pipeline to Engie SA and Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec for $8.6 billion. These companies survived multiple rounds of bidding for the unit which is known as TAG. Also, this is said to be the biggest-ever single asset sale for the company. TAG operates 4,500 km pipeline network which is spread across 10 states in northern Brazil.

In a regulatory filing, Brazilian state-run Petrobras has informed about an oil spill that occurred offshore Espirito Santo, Brazil. Approximately 188 cubic meters of oil was spilled during a routine transfer to a vessel at platform P-58 in Bacia dos Campos, Espirito Santo state. Petrobras has assured against any oil reaching the shore, which is 80 km away. The oil major is currently investigating the incident.

Chevron has eyed on the Petrobras’ 110,000 bpd refinery in Pasadena. Chevron is ready to pay $350 million to Petrobras for the same. Further, the company also wants to take the ownership of a 466-acre complex on the Houston Ship Channel. This is in line with the Chevron’s plan to own a second Gulf Coast facility after reporting an increase of 150,000-bpd in its shale production in the third quarter.

Production has commenced from the eighth platform installed in the Lula field, offshore Brazil. The BM-S-11 concession is operated by Brazilian state-owned, Petrobras where Shell and Petrogal Brasil are partners. Oil and natural gas is being produced from the P-69 FPSO in the Lula field through eight producing wells and utilising seven injection wells. Lula field entered into production phase in October 2010.

Petrobras’ subsidiary, Petrobras America Inc. and Murphy Oil Corporation’s subsidiary Murphy Exploration & Production Company have signed an agreement to form a joint venture (JV) comprised of oil producing assets in the Gulf of Mexico. Both the companies will contribute their present assets of Gulf of Mexico, with Murphy having 80% interest and PAI 20%. The production of this JV is expected to be approximately 75,000 boed in fourth-quarter 2018.

The subsea production system for Petrobras’ Mero 1 project will be supplied by Norway’s Aker Solutions. The subsea production system, which will consist of 12 vertical subsea trees, will be manufactured at the São José dos Pinhais and Rio das Ostras facility. The Norwegian energy service company is already working on the project, with deliveries scheduled for 2020. The subsea production system will be hooked up to Guanabara FPSO.

Brazilian state-owned Petrobras was yesterday charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for misleading US investors. SEC alleged that Petrobras falsely showed payments made by US investors as expenditures to "acquire and improve assets". This inflated the actual value of the Petrobras’ assets by an approximately $2.5 billion. Petrobras will pay $853 million penalty, as well as $933 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest to settle all the charges.

Norwegian oil services company, Aker Solutions has bagged a contract from Petrobras for the oil and gas fields in the Campos basin. Under the scope of this deal, offshore production units for Campos’ basin Operational Unit (UO-BC) will be renovated, repaired and upgraded by Aker Solutions. CEO of Aker commented on this agreement and said that the company is pleased to expand its business in Brazil.

Crude oil export from Brazil climber 50% higher than 2017, hitting 8.1 million tonnes peak last month. Brazilian Government data showed nearly three times jump in Brazil’s crude shipments from June stats. State-run Petrobras began operations on the platforms in Buzios field and Tartaruga field in June. The Brazilian government refrained from commenting over the record July export statistics.

If sources were to be believed, the US unit of Petrobras has agreed to settle a lawsuit over alleged toxic emissions from its Pasadena oil refinery by paying $3.5mn. The Petrobras subsidiary will additionally pay a $350,000 penalty to the U.S. government for emitting SOx and other pollutants over permitted levels. The settlement has come at a time when the company is planning to sell the 112,229 bpd capacity refinery.

Brazilian stat-owned, Petrobras, yesterday released statistics of its oil and gas production in June. Petrobras’ total production of oil and gas, including natural gas liquids (NGL), for June, was around 2.62 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed), out of which 2.53 million boed was domestic production and 98, 000 boed production overseas.

EPC giant, TechnipFMC has entered into a 3-year long master services agreement with Brazilian oil major, Petrobras to provide subsea services in Brazil. The agreement covers technical assistance, maintenance services, inspection and end-fitting re-termination of flexible pipes and umbilicals, installation support and engineering analysis of operations and installation conditions, among other services.