Brazil's pre-salt promise
Brazil's offshore is making big strides on costs—crucial in the post-shale landscape
It's been a rough period for Brazil's oil sector. The Lava Jato scandal, centred around a massive corruption scheme in the oil industry, has plunged the nation deep into a political crisis now more than three years old. The plunging oil price exposed state oil company Petrobras's massive debts and fragile financial foundation, forcing it to embrace deep austerity and slow its offshore developments. Hovering over these issues, however, has been another question: can Brazil's deep-water pre-salt fields still compete in an era of cheap oil supply? The emergence of the US shale industry, and recent evidence that the major Permian and Eagle Ford plays can grow at $50 a barrel, has pushed Brazil's
Also in this section
5 March 2026
Gas is a central pillar of Colombia’s energy system, but declining production poses a significant challenge, and LNG will be increasingly needed as a stopgap. A recent major offshore gas discovery offers hope, but policy improvements are also required, Camilo Morales, secretary general of Naturgas, the Colombian gas association, tells Petroleum Economist
4 March 2026
The continent’s inventories were already depleted before conflict erupted in the Middle East, causing prices to spike ahead of the crucial summer refilling season
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat
