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Non-Tech : The Brazil Board -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Paul Senior who wrote (817)	3/5/2012 6:36:01 PM
From: DewDiligence_on_SI	1 Recommendation Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 2504

>PBR makes me nervous because it seems to me Brazilian officials have too much say in how PBR is managed and how PBR should develop its oil assets and spend its profits.< A major understatement!

To: Paul Senior who wrote (817)	3/8/2012 2:12:57 AM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 2504

BP's Brazilian Foray Continues. BP Plc ( BP) has won the Brazilian National Petroleum Agency (ANP) permit for the exploration of hydrocarbon off the coast of Brazil's equatorial margin, along with the Brazilian state-owned company Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras or PBR). The approval will aid BP in enhancing its footprint in the country’s offshore play. Per the pact, the U.K. super major will gain 40% share from Petrobras in each of the four exploration blocks, located in the Barreirinhas and Ceará basins. Four blocks––BM-BAR-3 and BM-BAR-5 in the Barreirinhas basin, and BM-CE-1 and BM-CE-2 in the Ceará basin––comprise a total area of 2,113 square kilometers. However, the parties did not disclosed financial terms of the transaction. Upon completion of the deal, BP will be able to gain interests in 14 blocks in Brazil with operational control over six. Of the total, the company will be in partnership with Petrobas in nine blocks, namely the Xerelete field, BM-C-34 and BM-C-35 (in the Campos basin); BT-PN-2 and BT-PN-3 (in the Parnaíba basin); BM-BAR-3 and BM-BAR-5 (in the Barreirinhas basin), and BM-CE-1 and BM-CE-2 (in Ceará basin). A number of hydrocarbon discoveries in the last decade have led to a near 70% rise in the South American country's proven oil and gas reserves. In 2011, BP acquired nine licenses from Devon Energy Corp. ( DVN) for exploration activities in the Campos Basin, for a total consideration of $3.2 billion. In the fourth quarter of 2011, BP’s total production fell 5% year over year to 3.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (MMBoe/d). The Upstream segment also experienced a 5.6% year-over-year decrease in profit. Hence, we believe the company’s focus on a string of upstream activities in high margin areas like the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), Angola, the North Sea, Brazil, Australia and India bodes well for its future growth. Recently, BPand Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee reached an agreement of $7.8 billion, over the reimbursements to be made for the 2010 GoM oil spill. The settlement will help BP to resolve issues with the federal and state governments and move beyond the catastrophic incident that adversely affected the company’s role as the world's largest offshore operator. However, we maintain our Neutral recommendation as BP faces headwinds from a number of global macro issues, which include sovereign debt risks, defaults on sovereign credits, and changes in U.S. monetary, fiscal and tax policies.

To: Paul Senior who wrote (817)	3/26/2012 1:59:33 PM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2504

Brazil's EBX group sells $2 billion stake to Mubadala Abu Dhabi state investment fund Mubadala MUDEV.UL said on Monday it will buy a $2 billion stake in Brazil's EBX Group, providing fresh capital to the Brazilian conglomerate as it boosts spending on oil, ports, shipyards, mines and electricity. Mubadala, which has stakes in General Electric (GE.N) and private equity firm Carlyle CYL.UL, said the investment will give it a 5.63 percent preferred equity interest in Centennial Asset Brazilian Equity Fund, the personal investment company of Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista, who is behind the EBX Group. The investment comes as EBX seeks to raise an additional $1 billion for its shipbuilding and ship-leasing company OSX Brasil OSXB.SA and billions more in debt and equity capital to expand oil and gas output, complete port facilities, build thermal power plants, and dig iron ore and coal mines. It is the $46 billion Mubadala fund's biggest investment in Latin America and part of efforts to boost spending in Latin America and other emerging markets that are growing faster than traditional markets in North America and Europe. "This... transaction marks our first significant direct investment into one of the fastest growing markets and is an important step in Mubadala's development of strategic opportunities in Brazil and Latin America," Khaldoon al-Mubarak, Mubadala's chief executive and managing director, said in a statement. The EBX investment follows a report this week that Mubadala is in talks to take a stake in a Guinean bauxite joint venture. Shares of Batista-controlled MMX Mineracao (MMXM3.SA), EBX's iron ore unit, rose 3.91 percent in Sao Paulo, while LLX Logistica (LLXL3.SA), EBX's port and transportation company, rose 0.54 percent. OSX rose 0.47 percent, while electricity, coal and natural gas unit MPX (MPXE3.SA) rose 1.10 percent. Brazil's benchmark Bovespa index of the Sao Paulo stock exchange finance/markets/index?symbol=br%21ibov">.BVSP rose 0.9 percent. OGX (OGXP3.SA), the EBX group's oil and gas unit, fell 1.9 percent. Brazil's No. 2 oil company by market value, OGX plans to produce 1.4 million barrels of oil and natural gas equivalent by 2020. That is about half the current output of the United Arab Emirates, of which Abu Dhabi is a part. Through Centennial, the investment gives Mubadala an indirect stake MMX, LLX, MPX, OSX and OGX as well as in sports marketing, gold mining, healthcare, beauty products and entertainment companies. While most EBX companies are in the start-up phase, the group is expected to generate $15 billion in annual operational earnings by the end of 2015, Batista, Brazil's richest man, said in August. The deal will also give Mubadala, which has assets worth around $46 billion, "participation in both EBX and Mr. Batista's pipeline of future investment opportunities, such as technology companies, cement, fertilizers, entertainment and others," the company said. While EBX is based in Brazil, the world's 6th largest economy, Batista and his EBX companies also have mining and port assets in Chile and Colombia, which could help open those markets to further Mubadala investment in Latin America. Mubadala is seeking ways to use its oil revenue to develop and sustain Abu Dhabi and its social services in view of diminishing oil reserves. (Writing by Amran Abocar; Additional reporting by Jeb Blount in Rio de Janeiro; Editing by Reed Stevenson, Marguerita Choy and Gunna Dickson)

To: Paul Senior who wrote (817)	6/27/2012 6:01:40 PM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2504

Batista’s OGX Posts Record Drop as Brazil Oil Targets Cut By Peter Millard - Jun 27, 2012 6:03 PM GMT-0300 OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes SAshares and bonds fell the most on record after the oil companycontrolled by Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista cut its first project production targets by as much as 75 percent. The stock tumbled 25 percent to to close at 6.25 reais in Sao Paulo. OGX dollar bonds fell the most since they were issued in May 2011. Two other Batista companies, MMX Mineracao e Metalicos SA (MMXM3)and LLX Logistica SA (LLXL3), were the second- and third-biggest decliners on Brazil’s main index, falling 12.6 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively. Investors are losing faith in Batista’s companies after OGX cut its targets “below all expectations,”Lucas Brendler, who helps manage about 7 billion reais ($3.4 billion), including OGX shares at Banco Geracao Futuro de Investimento, said by telephone from Porto Alegre, Brazil. OGX plans to stabilize production at 5,000 barrels a day at each of its first two wells at the Tubarao Azul field, the Rio de Janeiro-based company said late yesterday. OGX had planned to pump as much as 20,000 barrels a day at each well in the Campos Basin. OGX is the main pillar in Batista’s plan to become the world’s richest man from Brazil’s natural resources through a group of interlinked oil, mining, shipbuilding and logistics companies. “This is yet another setback related to flow rates, adding to market concerns regarding the Campos Basin’s provable potential,” Banco Itau BBA SA analysts Paula Kovarsky and Diego Mendes said in a note to clients yesterday. “It is becoming increasingly clear that the development of Campos will be far more complicated and probably costlier than originally expected.” Bonds Decline OGX has slid 54 percent this year after production and reserves estimates at Tubarao Azul disappointed investors. Brazil’s benchmark stock index is down 6.4 percent. Banco Santander SA (SAN) lowered OGX’s end-2013 share price target to 9.50 reais from 12.50 reais and reiterated a hold rating. OGX’s $2.56 billion of 8.5 percent notes due in June 2018 fell 6.26 cents to 91.14 cents on the dollar, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Yields surged 147 basis points, or 1.47 percentage points, to 10.55 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “The company announced weaker-than-expected productivity for its first two wells in the Campos Basin, a development that supports our downgrade and results in our having to reduce our estimates further,” Santander analysts Christian Audi and Vicente Falanga Neto said in a note today. OGX has cut Tubarao Azul output targets three times since Jan. 18, when it predicted production of up to 20,000 barrels a day per well, according to company statements and conference calls. Improving Output Tubarao Azul will still yield a total of 110 million barrels of oil and natural gas over the life of the project, and the 5,000 barrel-a-day production levels are for the initial phase of development, OGX said. The company over the next 12 months will complete two more production wells and two water injection wells, which increase reservoir pressure to improve output, the company said. “These decisions were made to guarantee a sustainable exploitation of the Tubarao Azul field in line with the best industry practices,” Chief Executive Officer Paulo Mendonca said in the statement.