Venezuela’s opposition leader is rolling out the welcome mat to foreign investors who want a piece of the world’s largest oil reserves. In a major break from the policies of President Nicolas Maduro and his late predecessor Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan opposition chief Juan Guaido wants to allow foreign crude explorers to drill without partnering with the national oil company, a top adviser said. Under Chavez, seizures of foreign assets chased companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips out of the country and saddled the government with billions of dollars in reparation obligations. As the nation spiraled into economic, social and political chaos, Venezuela’s oil fields and infrastructure were neglected and starved of cash, leading to ruinous decline.

Mar 15, 2019 - Bloomberg

Brazil’s energy minister said the country plans to sign an accord next week with President Donald J. Trump that could pave the way for U.S. companies to explore the Latin American country for uranium and invest in new nuclear-power plants. Bento Albuquerque, a former admiral who once ran the Brazilian Navy’s atomic program, met with U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry in Houston this week and discussed creating a bilateral forum on energy cooperation that would include nuclear projects. That’s expected to be part of a memorandum signed by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on his first trip to the White House next week, Albuquerque said Thursday.

Mar 15, 2019 - Proactive Investors

Ocean Wilsons Holdings Limited shares sank on Friday after the marine services firm saw its profits dented by a softer performance by its tonnage business and exchange rate movements. The company blamed the profit slip on “softer” operating margins in its towage business, which pushed total operating margins down to 21.6% from 22.1% in the year, as well as a higher average US Dollar to Brazilian Real exchange rate, which prompted a revenue fall in dollar terms despite a 6% rise in the Brazilian currency. Looking forward, Ocean said competition in the Brazilian towage market where it operates “remains strong” and that the offshore oil and gas market, which it supplies support services for, was facing “another difficult year.”

Mar 15, 2019 - Reuters

U.S. ethanol exporters are likely to face increased competition in one of the few foreign markets where they have been able to deliver large volumes in recent years, the North and Northeast regions of Brazil, an industry association chief said. Ironically, that competition would come in the form of corn-based ethanol common in the United States, not sugar-based ethanol that has traditionally dominated in Brazil. Corn ethanol is taking off in Brazil’s grain heartland of Mato Grosso state, where production is expected to grow more than 50% in 2019 from a year earlier. But one major obstacle for that to happen is logistics.