Good morning! This week, we’re covering Brazil’s upcoming massive oil auctions. 600 days since the Marielle Franco murders. Brazil’s unemployment rates. (This newsletter is for platinum and gold subscribers only. Become one now!)
How Brazil could become one of the world’s top 4 oil producers
On Wednesday, the Brazilian government is set to auction off exploitation rights to the so-called “Transfer of Rights” oil fields—a series of massive deepwater reserves containing up to 16 billion barrels. The licensing auction alone is set to raise BRL 106 billion, with an additional BRL 1.7 trillion expected to be invested in infrastructure, research, and innovation by 2030. According to the most optimistic projections, Brazil’s oil and gas output should double within the next decade—which could make the country the world’s fourth-largest oil producer.
Why it matters. Despite the advances of renewable energy, oil and gas will remain the world’s top energy sources until at least 2040. The government wants to cash in while oil remains as valuable as it is.
History. The reserves in question have been at the center of a legal imbroglio between Petrobras and the federal government since 2010. At that time, Petrobras paid BRL 74.8 billion to exploit 5...