Brazil's New Petrobras Chief Calls to Speed Up Oil Exploration

Brazilian oil and gas company Petrobras President Magda Chambriard gestures during a press conference in Rio de Janeiro on May 27, 2024- AFP
Brazilian oil and gas company Petrobras President Magda Chambriard gestures during a press conference in Rio de Janeiro on May 27, 2024- AFP
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Brazil's New Petrobras Chief Calls to Speed Up Oil Exploration

Brazilian oil and gas company Petrobras President Magda Chambriard gestures during a press conference in Rio de Janeiro on May 27, 2024- AFP
Brazilian oil and gas company Petrobras President Magda Chambriard gestures during a press conference in Rio de Janeiro on May 27, 2024- AFP

The new boss of Brazil's Petrobras said it was crucial that the state-run company "accelerate" oil exploration, including in a controversial offshore basin near the mouth of the Amazon River.

Former regulator Magda Chambriard took over as chief executive of the oil giant on Friday, after left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva sacked her predecessor, AFP reported.

In her first press conference, the 66-year-old said exploring "new frontiers" was key to the company's survival, touching on an issue which has divided the Lula administration and infuriated environmentalists.

"This company's exploratory effort ... has to be accelerated," she said.

"The focus is ensuring that Petrobras' oil assets continue to grow. This means it is essential to continue exploring oil off the Brazilian coast. This includes the Equatorial Margin and the Amapa coast," she said.

The Equatorial Margin is a basin near the mouth of the Amazon River, that is considered Brazil's most promising frontier for oil exploration, with studies suggesting it holds massive crude deposits.

It lies near regions in Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname that have recently made major oil discoveries.

However, environmentalists warn of potentially devastating impacts on the ecologically sensitive region.

The project has triggered a battle within the Lula administration and the environmental protection agency, IBAMA, denied Petrobras an exploration license in May last year.

Environmental groups have long opposed crude oil exploration projects in the area where the Amazon meets the Atlantic Ocean, warning that it could pose risks to a freshwater barrier reef discovered there in 2016.

Chambriard said the energy ministry of the world's seventh-largest oil producing country "would love to drill" in this area.

"We need to have authorization to explore. We will have to talk to the Ministry of the Environment and show what Petrobras is offering in terms of environmental care, much more than what the law demands," said Chambriard.

She said the deepwater deposits that Brazil has been exploiting for the past 15 years would reach their peak in 2030.

"We have to be careful with reserves, and imports are out of the question," she said.

Chambriard was appointed after her predecessor Jean Paul Prates was sacked earlier this month following a spat between Petrobras and shareholders over dividend payments.

She is the sixth CEO of the company in under three years, after a turbulent period that included a major corruption scandal in the 2010s.

 



Gold Firms in Thin Trade as Investors Weigh Fed Outlook

Gold bars from the vault of a bank are seen in this illustration picture taken in Zurich November 20, 2014. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
Gold bars from the vault of a bank are seen in this illustration picture taken in Zurich November 20, 2014. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
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Gold Firms in Thin Trade as Investors Weigh Fed Outlook

Gold bars from the vault of a bank are seen in this illustration picture taken in Zurich November 20, 2014. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
Gold bars from the vault of a bank are seen in this illustration picture taken in Zurich November 20, 2014. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo

Gold prices firmed on Monday, although trading was thin due to the holiday season and as investors looked for cues on the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy trajectory for next year after it signaled gradual easing in its latest meeting.
Spot gold added 0.3% at $2,628.63 per ounce, as of 0941 GMT, trading in a narrow $16 range. US gold futures eased 0.1% to $2,643.10.
"(It's a) Quiet day with lower liquidity and limited data releases during the holiday season," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.
"We retain a constructive outlook for gold in 2025, targeting a move to $2,800/oz by mid-2025."
The Fed cut rates by 25 basis points on Dec. 18, although the central bank's predictions of fewer rate cuts in 2025 resulted in a decline in gold prices to their lowest level since Nov. 18 last week.
US consumer spending increased in November, supporting the Fed's hawkish stance, a sentiment that was also shared by San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly.
Higher interest rates dull non-yielding bullion's appeal.
"Presently, we are in a lull for Christmas week with the gold price trending sideways. Federal Reserve policy is clear with expectations of rising interest rates in the second half of the year," said Michael Langford, chief investment officer at Scorpion Minerals.
"The next big impact is the incoming presidency of (Donald) Trump and the initial presidential decrees that he might declare. This has the potential to add to market volatility and be bullish for gold prices."
Gold, often considered a safe-haven asset, typically performs well during economic uncertainties.
Spot silver rose 0.8% to $29.75 per ounce and platinum climbed 1.3% to $938.43. Palladium steadied at $920.53.