Petrobras delays deep-water rig tendern (From May, 2010)

Petrobras has postponed the bidding date in a giant tender for up to 28 deep-water rigs, of which nine will be owned by the Brazilian oil company.

News of a two or three week delay had been circulating around the oil sector for two weeks, and the move was confirmed by the Petrobras board of directors in its most recent meeting.

Bids for the package consisting of seven drillships and two semi-submersibles to be owned by Petrobras were due this week, but will now be presented on 26 May.

Bids for up to 19 chartered drillships are now due for submission on 9 June. In both cases, commercial proposals should be opened about two weeks after submission.

The tender has triggered intense negotiations between companies behind existing and planned Brazilian shipyards, their potential partners from Asian yards, international drilling companies and suppliers of international components.

2009: $2 Bn

“The U.S. Export-Import Bank tells us it has issued a “preliminary commitment” letter to Petrobras in the amount of $2 billion and has discussed with Brazil the possibility of increasing that amount. Ex-Im Bank says it has not decided whether the money will come in the form of a direct loan or loan guarantees. Either way, this corporate foreign aid may strike some readers as odd, given that the U.S. Treasury seems desperate for cash and Petrobras is one of the largest corporations in the Americas. “

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203863204574346610120524166.html

“Would that be offshore drilling? Would that be ‘deep water’ drilling, in which Petrobras leads the world?

According to a report in the Financial Times Monday, Petrobras (PBR) is seeking to raise $25 billion through a stock offering later this summer.

Apparently, the $811 million investment from Mr. Soros and the $10 billion (with a B) Mr. Obama has ‘lent’ Brazil is not enough to pay for Brazil’s ambitious offshore drilling plans. “

http://sweetness-light.com/archive/brazil-to-profit-from-obama-drilling-ban

Then there’s the matter of moving rigs to Brazil, so they won’t even have to build them...........

“IDLED OIL RIGS ARE MOVING TO BRAZIL Following Obama’s Drilling Moratorium
Posted by Jim Hoft on Sunday, June 13, 2010, 6:39 AM
Barack Obama’s oil drilling moratorium will cost tens of thousands of American jobs.
But, not everyone will suffer.
Oil companies are planning on moving their rigs from the Gulf of Mexico to South America off the coast of Brazil where the government is more friendly to energy corporations.
Reuters reported, via Free Republic:

Brazil could benefit from the BP Gulf of Mexico spill as a U.S. moratorium on offshore drilling boosts available rigs for the country’s deep water oil exploration program.

Even as an ecological catastrophe makes the future of U.S. offshore drilling less certain, Brazil is plowing ahead with a $220 billion five-year plan to tap oil fields even deeper than BP’s (BP.L) ill-fated Gulf well, which is still leaking crude.

With an estimated 35 rigs idled in the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil is already receiving inquiries from companies looking to move their rigs here, where vast discoveries in recent years may soon turn the country into a major crude exporter.

“What is bad for some may be good for others,” said Fernando Martins, Latin America Vice President for GE Oil and Gas, which provides services to drillers in Brazil.”

http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/06/obamas-oil-drilling-moratorium-forces-oil-companies-to-move-rigs-to-brazil/

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.