South America

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Braskem said that its 'board of directors has approved filing for an out-of-court restructuring in order to negotiate $10.9 billion of unsecured debt. Braskem is Latin America's biggest petrochemical company. It has been struggling with a prolonged slump in the industry and a disaster at its salt mines?in northeastern Brazil. Both of these have severely weakened Braskem's cash position. Three sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the out-of court?restructuring proposal may include a subsequent share offering. This could pave the way for an external capital increase. Sources said...

Keiko Fujimori, the Peruvian President, said that the government would 'implement short-term fuel subsidies for drivers working in the cargo and passenger transport sector. This is to help offset the cost increases which have sparked protests across the country. Fujimori stated that the subsidies would begin Saturday and last for three months. The levels will vary between 15% to 20%, depending on price fluctuations. Fujimori, in a joint press conference with Economy Minister Elmer Cuba, said: "This is a direct support, particularly to those who most need it." This is a temporary measure to offset the dramatic increase in fuel...

Citgo Petroleum, a Venezuelan-owned U.S. refining company, reported on Thursday that its profit jumped from $100 million to $936 in the second quarter due to strong refining margins resulting from global supply disruptions. Ownership of the 829,000-barrel-per-day Houston-based ?refiner could change to an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management if a court-ordered auction to ?pay Venezuela-linked creditors completed in Delaware last year is ultimately approved by the U.S. Treasury Department, ?which remains pending. The company reported that a tight supply-demand balance, as well as a geopolitical premium, characterized the quarter. The U.S. and Israel war on Iran, as well as shipping...

Executives from global commodities traders and financial companies, such as Trafigura, StoneX, and Macquarie are expanding their presence in Brazil's energy trading market. They are betting on the rising volatility of prices and the long-term growth of this sector, even though a wave financial distress is hitting local players. As several Brazilian power traders are facing financial problems, international groups with a large amount of capital can now gain a larger share of one the largest electricity markets in the world. StoneX's local segment head, Marcelo Mello, has announced that the company has opened its first global trading desk for...

Magda Chambriard, the CEO of Petrobras, said in a call with analysts on Friday that it is likely that the state-controlled oil company in Algeria will produce more oil by 2026 than what was forecast. She stated that the company's oil production in the second quarter exceeded its target by 200,000 barrels a day. According to a presentation by the company, Petrobras produced an average 2.6 million barrels a day so far this year. This is higher than its target of 2.5 millions barrels a day. Chambriard told journalists that 2.7m barrels a day would be an impressive result. She...

Petrobras, Brazil's state oil company, reported a 96% increase in net profit for the second quarter, to 52.4 billion Reais. This is the third highest result in its history. Petrobras earnings exceeded the 44.7 billion reais predicted in an LSEG survey. In a separate filing, the company said it would pay out 17.4 billion reais or 1.35 reais for each share in dividends and equity interest to its shareholders. In a press release, Fernando Melgarejo, Chief Financial Officer of Petrobras said: "The operational records that we achieved in this second quarter resulted in one of the best quarterly financial results...

SBM Offshore, a Dutch floating production specialist, raised its '2026 forecast for the second year in a row on Thursday. The company said that the first-half revenue had more than doubled due to the sale of FPSO One Guyana and increased activity. The company's consensus estimate of $4.65 billion was beaten by the $4.9 billion generated in revenue. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), which is a measure of earnings, rose 92%, to $1.3 billion. The company increased its 2026 revenue forecast from $6.9 billion to $7.6 billion and raised?its EBITDA directional target from $1.8 billion to $1.9...

India's Oil and Natural Gas 'Corp (ONGC) hopes to sign agreements soon with Venezuela 'to operate two oil 'blocks under the South 'American nation's 'new petroleum 'law', its finance chief'said 'on Wednesday. ONGC Videsh (ONGC Videsh is the overseas investment arm of the state-run ONGC) holds a stake of 40% in the San Cristobal oil field, and along with other Indian firms, an 18% share in the Carabobo-1 Project. "Now, we are able to work freely on Venezuelan projects." We had restricted our operations in Venezuela because of sanctions-related risks," said finance director Anupam agarwal on a?analyst's call following the...

Edwin Palma, the outgoing Energy Minister, said that Colombia would resume electricity exports to Ecuador on Wednesday. He added that the government had also enabled mechanisms for export contracts between companies of both countries. Palma, in a Tuesday post on X, said that the exports will cover more than 8% of Ecuador's demand for electricity and use about 78% total capacity of interconnection?links. Palma stated that the exports are being'restarted' to help secure the?Ecuadorian electricity system. He said that Colombia only authorized the flow after it was sure the measure wouldn't compromise the domestic energy security. This included protecting the...

The World Bank released an early assessment on Thursday that estimated that the costs of rebuilding could be double that amount or more. According to the government, the 7.2 and 7.4 magnitude earthquakes killed approximately 5,000 people and destroyed residential buildings, infrastructure, and non-residential structures in northern areas of Venezuela, including Caracas. According to the government, nearly 17,000 people have been injured and almost 18,000 are homeless. World Bank reported that the disaster was the "country's deadliest quake since 1812" and occurred at a time of precarious socioeconomic conditions, with a poverty level of 76%. Around 7.9 million people fled...

Industry sources say China's fuel demand will take a long time to recover after its imports hit a record low. Refiners reduced production and opted for cheaper crude as a result of the U.S. - Iran war. China's low demand for high-sulphur oil (HSFO), one of Asia’s largest importers, is expected to limit prices. This is despite the fact that the market has strengthened after Washington and Tehran intensified their attacks on the Middle East disrupting Gulf supply through the Strait of Hormuz. LSEG data show that the Asian refiners' margins for 380 centistoke HSFO rose to a discount of...

YPF Electric Energy, an Argentinian energy company, announced a '45.8% increase in quarterly revenues in its IPO filing on Monday. It joined a 'wave' of companies from a similar sector that are seeking a New YORK IPO amid improved market sentiment. Investor confidence has increased in Argentina following President Javier Milei’s market-oriented Reforms and renewed interest for the country’s energy sector. Argentinian energy firm Genneia filed for an IPO in the United States earlier this month. Pure-play power company YPF Electric Energy operates 17 thermal power plants and renewable energy sources with a total installed capacity of 3,764 megawatts (MW)....

A Brazilian court announced on Thursday that 19 additional cities have joined the compensation agreement reached with the miners BHP Vale Samarco over the 'collapse of the Mariana dam in 2015', including the city which was at the epicenter of the disaster. The deal signed in October 2024 and ratified by 45 out of 49 municipalities that are eligible for funds now has the backing of these 45 municipalities. The 2015 dam failure in an iron ore mining owned by Samarco (a joint venture between Vale, BHP and BHP) near the city of?Mariana, in southeastern Brazil killed 19 people and...

According to two sources familiar with the situation, the sale of Brazil's CSN's cement unit is still undecided. The final price tag has been a major obstacle to a quick?deal. CSN, Cementir's parent company, confirmed earlier this month in a regulatory filing it had received bids for the unit, but did not name the bidders. Previous reports had stated that China's Huaxin, a Brazilian Votorantim consortium and Italy's Cementir were the top bidders. Although sources confirmed that bidders are still in the running, CSN's initial expectations were not met by initial offers. One of the sources, who requested anonymity due...

Official data released on Tuesday showed that Chile's economy experienced a decline of 1% in the second quarter. This was below expectations, as lower copper production affected its key mining sector. Data from the central bank showed that Andean economy shrank by 0.2% compared to a year earlier. Gross domestic product, despite a slight improvement from the revised 0.3% contraction year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, missed economists' expectations for 0.1% growth. The central bank stated that the economy of the largest copper producer in the world was hindered by the key mining sector, which decreased 6.4% because...

The fact that China's steel production dropped to its lowest level this year in July supports the idea that the world's second largest economy struggles for growth momentum. As usual, the devil lies in the details. Steel demand is unevenly distributed across the economy. The world's biggest producer of industrial metal saw its steel output fall to 76.93 metric?tons during July. This is a 3.6% drop from the same period in 2025, and it was the lowest July since 2017. China's first seven months of the year saw a production volume of 577.04 millions tons, down by 3.1% compared to...

Two sources with knowledge of the matter have confirmed that Coal India is considering the acquisition of a unit?of Canada's Wealth Minerals, which has lithium mining assets?in Chile. This move will be one of India's biggest efforts to secure lithium resources overseas, which is a vital mineral used in the production of electric vehicle batteries and storage systems. India has only had limited success in acquiring vital mineral assets overseas. It has only secured one lithium exploration and mining agreement overseas, which covers five blocks in Argentina by 2024. One source said that as a first step Coal India, and...

Hindustan Copper, the state-run copper company, plans to sell copper concentrate from mines that it has acquired from Chilean Codelco?to?Hindalco & Adani in order to satisfy India's increasing appetite for the red metal, according to two sources who are familiar with the matter. Three sources declined to identify themselves because the discussions were confidential. Codelco's secretary of mines in India said that in April, Hindustan Copper, Coal India, and NTPC Mining were in talks to acquire four copper mining block from Codelco. Hindustan Copper had signed a preliminary deal with Codelco last year to look at "mutually advantageous opportunities" in...

The top executive of BYD in Brazil said that the Chinese automaker will launch its first Brazilian-made plug-in hybrid flex fuel car on Tuesday, after a two year?investment. In an interview, Senior Vice-President Alexandre Baldy revealed that the Song Pro Super Hybrido Flex Fuel, which hits dealerships in Brazil on Wednesday features a powertrain capable of running on gasoline, electricity or ethanol. He added that the GL version's range on electric power alone is 60 km (37 mi) and 120 km for a higher-end GS model. Baldy stated that the vehicle was built at BYD’s Camacari factory in northeastern Bahia...

Zijin Gold & Allied 'Gold has scrapped its planned C$5.5 Billion ($3.90 Billion) buyout. Instead, the?Chinese?company took a 9.2% share for around $295 M. In premarket trading, shares of Allied Gold listed in the U.S. fell by nearly 15%. The companies announced on Wednesday that they had mutually agreed to allow the deadline of July 29 to expire as "there was no reasonable likelihood" that the remaining conditions would be met in a reasonable time frame. Allied also cited broader external factors affecting trans-border transactions at this scale but did not provide any further?details. Zijin Gold operates mining operations in...

Chief Executive Albert Hu, of the Hong Kong listed Chinese mining equipment manufacturer CiDi, said that it expects overseas deployments to grow this year, as it expands "beyond China". Hu stated that CiDi had equipped semi-automated autonomous excavators with the company in Australia. The company is now preparing to roll out a more extensive program in Australia this year. It will also be working on securing contracts in South America, Europe and the Middle East. CiDi, along with rivals such as Fujian's EACON, are competing to supply self-driving mining equipment and trucks. This will reduce labour costs and fuel consumption...

U.S. officials and Mexican officials announced on Thursday that they would meet in September for a 'fourth round' of negotiations to revamp North American trade agreements. This follows a week-long discussion which revealed disagreements about changes to the automotive content rules, among other things. This week, U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer held a meeting with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum as well as Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard during a third round discussion on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. In a statement released after the conclusion of the talks, Greer and Sheinbaum said they discussed autos and economic security, agriculture, electronic payments, and steel...

Antofagasta Minerals, a Chilean copper mining company, said on Thursday that its flagship mine Los 'Pelambres is safe following an investigation by Chile's environmental regulator into a water discharge incident caused by extreme weather. On Wednesday, the regulator said that Antofagasta released water into the Pupio Waterway from a drainage pool after heavy rains caused an?avalanche near the site. Antofagasta has said that the controlled release of water from two pools downstream the tailings?dam?wall was part of its water management system. Water from the tailings dam was channeled to the Pupio stream whose flow had already increased significantly because of...

After weeks of tensions in governance, Vale shareholders elected Manuel 'Lino' Oliveira to the position of?chairman? of its Brazilian mining company?s board?. This was a decision backed by Previ, Vale?s largest shareholder. Oliveira was elected after the resignation of former Chairman Daniel Stieler earlier this month. About a month later,?pension funds Previ and?pension fund Previ had requested a meeting for shareholders to vote on his removal. Previ, a pension fund that holds a 7% stake and manages retirement funds for Banco do Brasil employees, argued that Oliveira could help improve governance at?one?of?the world's largest iron-ore producers. Oliveira (also known as...