Brazil’s northeastern state of Bahia is declaring a state of emergency after several of its beaches were contaminated by oil sludge. Brazil’s environmental agency reported Sunday that some 20 beaches in the state popular with tourists had been polluted by oil leaking from an unknown source since the beginning of September.The mysterious oil has polluted at least 150 beaches in nine different states. Brazil’s environment minister has said the oil is very likely of Venezuela origin – a claim denied by Caracas – but authorities are still trying to determine the source of the leak.

Oct 15, 2019 - Seeking Alpha

Andrew Hecht - I look at the current price of shares of Petroleo Brasileiro SA as a parlay bet on both the price of crude oil and the level of the Brazilian real versus the US dollar. The price of crude oil is close to its technical support level. At the same time, the Brazilian real is trading at not far above its multiyear low. Buying PBR shares at the US$ 14 level is a parlay bet in the current environment. However, an investor or trader does not necessarily need to get both sides right. A rebound in the energy commodity or sharp recovery in the value of the Brazilian currency could send the price of the shares appreciably higher over the coming weeks and months. Both could have an explosive effect on the price of PBR shares.

Oct 15, 2019 - Sputnik

Russia's Rosatom discusses with Brazil a project of a floating low-power nuclear power plant (NPP) for shelf extraction of commercial minerals, Evgeny Pakermanov, the head of Rusatom Overseas (part of Rosatom), told Sputnik. "We are conducting quite intense negotiations with Brazil on the possibility to apply the floating NPP technology," Pakermanov said. "This is especially interesting for the Brazilian side in terms of energy supply of major shelf projects for minerals production," Pakermanov explained. Russia and Brazil signed a nuclear cooperation agreement in 1994, and in 2017 Rosatom signed a memorandum of understanding with Brazil's Eletrobras and Eletronuclear to strengthen cooperation.

Oct 15, 2019 - Ethanol Producer Magazine

Miguel Ivan Lacerda Oliveira, director of biofuels for the Brazil Ministry of Mines and Energy, said during the Global Ethanol Summit in Washington, D.C., that the future of transportation is electric vehicles, but ethanol will still have a role as a transportation fuel. “The future is electric,” Oliveira said. “There’s no denying electric cars are going to grow up. But I think biofuels could play a major role in electrification of the transportation sector.” One of the ways ethanol can play a role in an increasingly electric transportation sector is through the use of flex fuel hybrid vehicles. He said Toyota recently released a vehicle in Brazil that runs on ethanol. “It’s an electric car that runs on ethanol.”