If you're an energy buff, the action in Brazil can seem a bit frenetic.
For starters, Petrobras
At the same time, a proposal by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva that would give the government, through Petrobras, increased control over activities in the Santos Basin continues to receive intense discussion. As something of an olive branch, Sergio Gabrielli, the CEO of Petrobras, is on a journey to convince U.S. and European companies that, should the new proposal become law, the companies will be treated fairly and will continue to play a major role in the development of the fields.
I'm assuming that his itinerary includes the likes of ExxonMobil
Beyond that, the Petrobras board has approved a plan that would involve the hiring of as many as 28 new ultra-deepwater drilling rigs, all of which would be built in Brazilian shipyards. The first portion would involve the construction of at least nine rigs in the same shipyard, seven of which would be vessel-type rigs.
In addition, Petrobras would charter other rigs from existing operators. Those rigs also would be built by the operators in Brazilian yards. Surprisingly, the guidelines for building and chartering the rigs could be disclosed as early as this month.
Thus far, there haven't been comments about the rig plan from Transocean
Petrobras wears a full five Motley Fool CAPS stars. Why not check out the company and give a thumbs-up (or -down) signal on where you think the stock is headed?