Brazil Seeks More Control Over Oil Beneath Its Seas

New York Times ^ | August 17, 2009 | Alexie Barrionuevo

[Lorianne]

RIO DE JANEIRO — Faced with the world’s most important oil discovery in years, the Brazilian government is seeking to step back from more than a decade of close cooperation with foreign oil companies and more directly control the extraction itself.

The move is part of a nationalistic drive to increase the country’s benefits from its natural resources and cement its position as a global power. But it could significantly slow the development of the oil fields at a time when the world is looking for new sources, energy and risk analysts said.

This month, Brazil’s government said it wanted the national oil company, Petrobras, to control all future development of the deep-sea fields discovered in 2007, which international geologists estimate could hold tens of billions of barrels of recoverable oil.

The change would make Petrobras the operator for the 62 percent of the new area that has yet to be bid out, consigning foreign companies to the role of financial investors. That would limit their ability to help set the pace for the oil fields’ development, while giving Petrobras significantly more power to generate jobs and award lucrative contracts.

[VisualizeSmallerGovernment]

There's oil under the sea?

Does the United States know about this?

[marron]

Just a reminder that there is really very little private oil in the world.

“Big Oil” typically works as a contractor for “Really Big Oil”, which is to say, the government oil companies who dwarf the private oil companies. Except for a very small percentage, most oil in the world belongs to governments and government oil companies.

[GeronL]

Its working so well for Venezuela... *cough*

[samtheman]

Everyone else is drilling, drilling, drilling.

The USA, land of the leftists, home of the schmucks, will be the ultimate 3rd world loser.

As long as we listen to the traitors who lead us we are screwed. We are so screwed.

[spyone]

Well, this is very interesting. Brazil has tens of tens of billions of dollars in capital expenditures in the next decade before they see one nickel of revenue. Hopefully, this does not mean they are going the Chavez or Putin route.

[La Lydia]

Not only do we know it, but several billion of “our” “stimulus” money is being given by the BO administration to Petrobras, the Brazilian state oil company, for exploration.

[La Lydia]

We're providing the financing.

http://www.oilonline.com/home/digest/?tx_ttnews

[Sherman Logan]

However, this means they’re using up their oil and ours is still in the ground. It isn’t going anywhere, and will be available in future if we decide we need it.