Brazil's energy ministry says it is discussing measures to increase government revenue
In a statement, the ministry said that the measures, which included new auctions, regulatory adjustments and changes in the model of oil sales by Brazil, would have the potential to increase revenue by about 35 billion reais ($6.21 billion) in the next two years.
($1 = 5.6387 reais)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Iraqi-British national sanctioned for ‘smuggling oil to fund Iran'
An Iraqi-British national has been sanctioned for allegedly smuggling oil to help fund the Iranian regime, US officials said. Salim Ahmed Said is accused of running a billion-dollar smuggling operation via a network of companies trading with Tehran. According to the US treasury, he forged documents and bribed officials in order to disguise the source of the oil, which was then sold to Western buyers via either Iraq or the United Arab Emirates, for at least five years. Some of the profits are alleged to have been sent to Iran to bankroll the activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, proscribed by the US as a terrorist group. Said's companies and vessels were allegedly used to blend Iranian and Iraqi oil – one of several 'obfuscation techniques' to launder the supplies so they could be sold on the legitimate market and allow Tehran to evade sanctions. He is also accused of spending millions of dollars bribing members of the Iraqi government in exchange for forged certificates stating the oil originated from Iraq. In addition to owning a UAE-based oil tanker company, with which he is said to have avoided a formal connection, Said allegedly owns two companies based in Britain: The Willett Hotel Limited and Robinbest Limited. 'As President Trump has made clear, Iran's behaviour has left it decimated. While it has had every opportunity to choose peace, its leaders have chosen extremism,' said Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary. '[We] will continue to target Tehran's revenue sources and intensify economic pressure to disrupt the regime's access to the financial resources that fuel its destabilising activities.' The treasury has also sanctioned several vessels said to have been used in the covert delivery of Iranian oil in a bid to intensify pressure on Iran's 'shadow fleet'.
Reuters
15 hours ago
- Reuters
Qatar threatened to cut EU LNG supplies over sustainability law, letter shows
BRUSSELS, July 26 (Reuters) - Qatar has threatened to cut gas supplies to the European Union in response to the bloc's due diligence law on forced labour and environmental damage, a letter from Qatar to the Belgian government, seen by Reuters, showed. Qatar is the world's third-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), after the United States and Australia. It has provided between 12% and 14% of Europe's LNG since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In a letter to the Belgian government dated May 21, Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi said the country was reacting to the EU's corporate sustainability due diligence directive (CSDDD), which requires larger companies operating in the EU to find and fix human rights and environmental issues in their supply chains. "Put simply, if further changes are not made to CSDDD, the State of Qatar and QatarEnergy will have no choice but to seriously consider alternative markets outside of the EU for our LNG and other products, which offer a more stable and welcoming business environment," said the letter. A spokesperson for Belgium's representation to the EU declined to comment on the letter, which was first reported by German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. The European Commission also received a letter from Qatar, dated May 13, a Commission spokesperson told Reuters, noting that EU lawmakers and countries are currently negotiating changes to the CSDDDD. "It is now for them to negotiate and adopt the substantive simplification changes proposed by the Commission," the spokesperson said. Brussels proposed changes to the CSDDD earlier this year to reduce its requirements - including by delaying its launch by a year, to mid-2028, and limiting the checks companies will have to make down their supply chains. Companies that fail to comply could face fines of up to 5% of global turnover. Qatar said the EU's changes had not gone far enough. In the letter, Kaabi said Qatar was particularly concerned about the CSDDD's requirement for companies have a climate change transition plan aligned with preventing global warming exceeding 1.5 celsius - the goal of the Paris Agreement. "Neither the State of Qatar nor QatarEnergy have any plans to achieve net zero in the near future," said the letter, which said the CSDDD undermined countries' right to set their own national contributions towards the Paris Agreement goals. In an annex to the letter, also seen by Reuters, Qatar proposed removing the section of CSDDD which includes the requirement for climate transition plans. Kaabi is also chief executive of QatarEnergy ( Qatar Energy gas has long-term supply contracts with major European companies, including Shell (SHEL.L), opens new tab, TotalEnergies ( opens new tab and ENI ( opens new tab.
Reuters
a day ago
- Reuters
Venezuela oil company PDVSA readies return to work under previous US terms
July 25 (Reuters) - Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA is getting ready to resume work at its joint ventures under terms similar to Biden-era licenses, once U.S. President Donald Trump reinstates authorizations for its partners to operate and export oil under swaps, company sources said. Washington is preparing new authorizations for key PDVSA partners, starting with U.S. major Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab, to operate in the sanctioned nation. The permits are expected to mark a policy shift from a pressure strategy Washington adopted this year that led to oil license cancellations in March. The authorizations might not be made public this time, but Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, late on Thursday, hailed political work to keep Chevron in the country and said the company was involved in working groups to expand operations again. Since the U.S. first imposed energy sanctions in 2019, Venezuela has seen licenses come and go as part of political negotiations with different U.S. administrations. The OPEC country has stabilized production at around 1 million barrels per day in recent years, with exports mostly going to independent Chinese refiners. A separate secondary tariff announced by Washington this year on buyers of Venezuelan oil has not been enforced. If the licenses are granted again under terms allowing PDVSA's partners to contribute to procurement and contract payments, while importing and exporting oil through swaps, Venezuela could secure a much-needed revenue source. The authorizations would come after a prisoner swap between Venezuela and the U.S. this month. The U.S. State Department has said no money from Venezuelan exports will reach Maduro's coffers, but it remains unclear how that prohibition could be enforced. Historically, PDVSA has not allowed its partners' cargoes to depart without receiving mandatory royalties and tax payments. "The situation is not going to be different this time," a company source said, referring to PDVSA's preparations. PDVSA and Venezuela's Oil Ministry did not reply to requests for comment. Chevron said it conducts its business globally in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including the U.S. sanctions framework. PDVSA's previous arrangement with Chevron involved a three-leg swap, with the U.S. firm supplying diluents to PDVSA and the state company delivering oil cargoes for Chevron to export to the U.S. to get debt and dividends repaid, one of the sources explained. The arrangement with European companies, including Italy's Eni ( opens new tab, Spain's Repsol ( opens new tab and France's Maurel & Prom ( opens new tab was slightly different. Since debt owed to those firms was lower, the swaps were almost completely oil-for-fuel exchanges with a minimum amount of debt repaid, the source added. PDVSA sees no other mechanism to resume oil exports to the U.S. and Europe under the U.S. sanctions, the sources said. In April, PDVSA canceled oil cargoes it had assigned to Chevron after the companies could not agree on a payment solution. Washington's new approach to energy sanctions on Venezuela has again divided the country's opposition, with some leaders celebrating Chevron's return to full operations and others warning it could benefit Maduro.
