South America

Four sources with knowledge of the situation have confirmed that Brazilian state-run Petrobras has refused to?accept requests from fuel distributors requesting additional diesel volumes, as domestic prices are falling?to record discounts compared to global levels. Petrobras is the largest supplier of fuel in Brazil and the data indicates that the diesel sold by the company is currently 85% less expensive than imported fuels. This is due to global prices rising because of the U.S. Iran conflict. Sources claim that the disparity between the two diesel prices has a negative impact on the booming agricultural sector of the country during the...

Executives said that if the cash flow was high, Petrobras could pay higher dividends. Magda 'Chambriard, CEO of the company, said earlier this week that it would not pass on sudden changes in oil prices to consumers following attacks by the U.S. Israel and Iran both disrupted energy flows earlier this week. "We live in a period of geopolitical uncertainty, and our concern is that the company be prepared for any scenario regarding the price of crude oil that could occur," said?Chambriard. Brent oil prices are at their highest levels since April 2024. They will likely reach the highest weekly...

Analysts say that the Middle East conflict and higher oil prices threaten to shift emerging markets towards a more "hawkish" policy. In the next two weeks, more than a dozen emerging market central banks will be meeting to discuss their monetary policies. Goldman Sachs analysts noted that "markets that have been under the most pressure are those that were owned by investors anticipating rate?cuts in CEEMEA, LatAm and Latin America) and that also tend to be highly sensitive to global supply side shocks." Global financial markets are gripped by fears of an oil price spike due to the U.S. -...

Shell's CEO for Brazil told reporters that the conflict between Israel and the United States with Iran presents "enormous opportunities" to attract investment to develop Brazil's oil assets. Cristiano Pinto Da Costa, who is a Brazilian politician, said that Brazil's geopolitical stabilty and its track record as a reliable oil-producer give it a definite 'advantage' over other countries, even though he acknowledged the country had limited capacity to increase production in the short term. Brazil will likely benefit "over the medium to long term", he said, touting the record investments made by the London listed oil major of $12.5 billion...

Brazilian oil giant Petrobras has increased its nitrogen fertilizer sales in Brazil to help reduce the supply risks as tensions in Middle East threaten the delivery of a key source for the country's imports. Petrobras said that its Bahia and Sergipe units, which resumed operations recently, had reached 90% capacity. The factories are able to supply 12% of Brazil’s urea needs. Urea is one of the most common fertilizers used around the globe to grow crops such as corn, wheat and rice. It's also commonly used for sugarcane,?coffee, sugarcane, and sugarcane. Brazil is increasing its urea production, but it is...

Chris Wright, the U.S. Energy secretary, said that proceeds from the sale of Venezuelan oil will no longer be routed through an account in Qatar. Instead they are being sent directly to US Treasury Department accounts. The U.S. has taken control of Venezuela's oil exports after Washington and Caracas signed a landmark deal in January. The U.S. has taken control of Venezuela's oil exports as part of a historic deal signed between Washington and Caracas. To protect the money from seizure, it was initially deposited into a Qatari account. Wright, who spoke to reporters in Texas about the?reroute, said that...

The Justice Department announced on Friday that the United States is seeking to forfeit a crude oil cargo of approximately 1.8 millions barrels supplied by Venezuelan PDVSA and an oil tanker, 'Motor.Tanker.Skipper', which was seized by U.S. authorities in December. The Department of Justice filed a complaint in the U.S. The Department of Justice filed a complaint in the District Court for the District of Columbia alleging a conspiracy dating back to 2021 that aimed to facilitate the shipment of petroleum products and their sale to the benefit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of?Iran. The Justice Department released a...

Chris Wright, the U.S. Secretary of Energy told reporters on Thursday in Texas that sales under the flagship oil supply agreement between Venezuela and the U.S. will reach $2 billion by the end of this month. The U.S. took over Venezuela's oil sales shortly after U.S. troops captured President Nicolas Maduro early in January. Proceeds went to a U.S. supervised fund in Qatar. Since then, Vitol - and Trafigura - have been marketing and distributing the lion's'share' of the OPEC countries' 'oil' under the pact. Meanwhile, partners of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, particularly Chevron, are 'increasing output and shipments....

The Venezuelan association of petrol station operators has declared an emergency due to what the 'operators' claim are low earnings. Sources and a document seen in? showed. According to a letter sent to the government by the Fenegas Association, the association has asked the government to standardize prices across the country. The letter stated that "Up until now, we have not been able to find a path to solutions which allow us to continue to provide our services in a safe and profitable manner, and our efforts at the moment to be heard are fruitless." In Caracas, the government has...

The Venezuelan government owes Repsol 4,55 billion euros ($5,37 billion), the Spanish energy group said in its report for the first-time on Thursday. Repsol is active in Venezuela since over 30 years, employs staff and is a major partner of the state energy company PDVSA. It is one of a few companies that have been granted a license to run oil and natural gas operations in Venezuela by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. Repsol received a permit in March of last year from the U.S. authorities allowing it to receive PDVSA oil as "payment for debt"....

U.S. officials reported that General Francis Donovan and Joseph Humire, a senior Pentagon official, made a surprise visit to Venezuela for security discussions on Wednesday. This is the first trip by a U.S. Military delegation since U.S. Forces captured Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro last month in an audacious operation and whisked to New York for drug-trafficking accusations. First reported by. The Venezuelan government reported that the U.S. delegation met with interim President Delcy Rodriquez, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello. Both sides have agreed to collaborate to fight drug trafficking, terrorism, and migration. Padrino and?Cabello both face...

According to sources who are familiar with these efforts, Phillips 66, Citgo Petroleum, and other U.S. refiners want to purchase heavy crude oil directly from Venezuelan oil giant PDVSA in order to maximize their profits. They do not plan to use trading houses or the U.S. oil giant Chevron. Trafigura Trading and Vitol secured the first U.S. export licenses for Venezuelan oil in January as part of a $2 Billion deal between Caracas & Washington. Chevron holds an authorization to ship and operate in Venezuela since last year. Refiners have purchased cargos from these three companies in the U.S. as...

The Argentine Senate approved a law reform protecting Andean Glaciers on Thursday. This was a measure promoted by President Javier Milei’s?government? to encourage mining companies to invest. Environmental groups demonstrated against the Argentine Congress as the Senate passed the bill with a vote 40 to 31. The reform now moves to the lower chamber for a vote. Mieli’s bill is part a larger pledge by his government to “end arbitrary interpretations” of the glacier laws, which according to the government has stalled economic development and investment. The controversial bill, if passed, would allow provinces to set up their own standards...

The Chilean mining ministry has prepared 'two new lithium contracts' to be submitted to the national comptroller by March. This is part of a broader effort to enlarge production beyond the projects that were initially submitted this year. These two contracts are distinct from the tenders that the Ministry submitted in January. Two of them were rejected. The preparation of their report'signals an extension of Chile’s national lithium policy, which aims to dramatically increase output by the year 2034. Key Context El Mercurio reported Wednesday that the ministry intends to re-submit five contracts within a few days. Three others are...

India has deepened its trade ties with Brazil, signing a pact on Saturday to increase cooperation in mining and minerals. The country is seeking to meet the rising demand for steel at home and to support capacity expansion as a result of a global race to secure raw materials. The agreement was signed by India's PM Narendra Modi, and Brazilian President Luiz inacio Lula Da Silva. Both men arrived in New Delhi this week on a three-day trip. Brazil has large reserves of minerals that are critical for steelmaking. It is one of the top producers of iron ore in...

Vale Base Metals agreed to sell its majority stake in the Thompson Nickel Belt Mine in Manitoba to an investor consortium, which would create a new nickel-producing company in Canada. Exiro Minerals of Toronto, Orion Resources Partners and Canada Growth Fund are part of the consortium. Brazilian mining company Vale has agreed to sign a five-year agreement for the off-take of its 18.9% stake in Exiro Nickel. The new consortium will invest $200 million in order to revive a mine that Vale had been reviewing since last year, when the price of nickel fell to its lowest level in five...

Antofagasta, a Chilean miner, posted a 52% increase in its annual core profit on Tuesday, as record prices for copper offset softer output. It also said that increased capital expenditures would support production over the medium-term. Analysts had expected that earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation would reach a record of $5.2 billion in 2025, up from $3.43billion a year ago. This was due to the fact that copper prices rose by more than 40%. Antofagasta proposed a final dividend of 48 cents per share for 2025, bringing its dividend payout ratio to 50%. Since more than a decade,...

Analysts praised a core profit that was above expectations and predicted a positive reaction to the shares. Rio de Janeiro-headquartered Vale, one of the world's largest iron ore producers, posted a $3.8 billion net loss for the October-to-December quarter, compared to a $694 million loss in the same period of 2024. Analysts polled at?LSEG expected a profit of $2.7 billion. Vale Base Metals reported a $3.5billion impairment of its?nickel assets located in Canada. This was "caused by a downward adjustment in long-term nickel prices based on market estimates". The company also noted a $2.8 billion write-off from deferred taxes assets...

Lundin Gold, a Canadian mining company, is investing $100m?this year to prolong the life of its Fruta Del Norte mine located in Ecuador. The 'price of gold' remains high. Executives said that the investment is intended to "bolster" exploration efforts by adding 133,000 meters of drilling in concessions across the Amazonian Province of Zamora Chinchipe. This area has been affected by illegal mining. Lundin wants its reserves to be increased from 5.54 million ounces and find new deposits by launching a 3-year project in 2025. The mine has seven drilling rigs in the mine and another 11 on the surface....

Analysts?and producers say that Paraguay’s soybean crop in 2025/26 is expected to exceed 10 million tons, and could become the biggest ever recorded by the country. StoneX, a South American agricultural?consultancy, revised its estimate of the crop harvested from October to February, increasing it by 500,000 tons. This is a significant increase over the previous estimate, which was 9.65 million tonnes. The crop, according to StoneX, "is among the best recorded ever" in this landlocked South American producer, the report stated. Analysts believe the final production total will depend on the second, smaller crop (or "zafrina") harvested between April-May. StoneX's...

Claudio Sougarret, the mine's head, said on?Tuesday that production at Codelco’s El Teniente will be affected for?the next?five years. He said that the mine will produce 301,000 tons of red metal in this year. This was on the sidelines an event to showcase the results of a study of biodiversity near the mine. He said that he hoped to "push?that production" up a little, but cautioned it would be "?around there and will be for the next five year." Codelco, world's biggest copper?miner, has previously stated that production will be affected for the next 3 years. A collapse at the...

Argentine Foreign minister?Pablo Quirno said that a deal between Argentina and 'the U.S. on critical minerals signed this week doesn't rule out Chinese investments?into the mining sector of the country. As of today, this does not mean that China will or cannot invest in Argentina. Quirno stated at a press briefing that China has made investments in Argentina in the form of minerals. The agreement was announced following a meeting in Washington of over 50 countries where U.S. Vice President JD Vance suggested a trading block for critical minerals. On Thursday, the two countries finalized their reciprocal trade agreement and...

Canada's Capstone Copper announced on Friday that its largest union at the Mantoverde copper and gold mine in?Chile approved a three-year contract. This ended a strike which began on January 2, and allowed production to resume normal. The Australian-listed shares of the miner fell by?3.9%, to A$15.430. This is their lowest level since January 23. The agreement brings an end to the labour strike which had reduced production in the?mine by about 55%. Capstone announced that it had?now negotiated new contracts for all four unions on the site. This allows the company to resume its full operations. Union No. Union...

The agency said in a Monday evening statement that the waste piles of Sigma Lithium at a Brazilian mining site do not pose an "imminent threat" and the country's regulator for mining did not see the need to close them down during a recent visit. ANM's Technical Staff visited the mine in January, about a month after labor inspectors had shut down the piles because they warned of an "imminent and grave risk" for workers and local residents. Sigma's share price fell by 30% following the shutdown. The inspectors' decision was reported on January 15, 2019. ANM's report does not...