Petrobras Profit Rises 21.5% as Brazil Studies Imports of Argentine Vaca Muerta Gas

Petrobras reported third-quarter net profit of R$39.8 billion, up 21.5% from a year earlier, Agência Brasil reported. The quarter covered a period of war-driven crude prices. The state-controlled company's operating cash flow exceeded R$61 billion.

Brazil is also looking south for gas. Pré-Sal Petróleo SA (PPSA), the Brazilian state company that manages the country's share of pre-salt oil, signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday with Gas y Petróleo del Neuquén (GyP), an Argentine provincial state company, Folha reported. The agreement is to assess supplying the Brazilian market with gas from Argentina's Vaca Muerta shale formation.

Further north, Venezuela signed a memorandum of understanding with ExxonMobil on Monday for the company's return, MercoPress reported. Exxon left in 2007, after Hugo Chávez's government nationalized the last privately held oilfields. MercoPress notes that the document is not a contract. ExxonMobil has made no public statement on the signing that this desk could find. Its chief executive, Darren Woods, recently said Venezuela still needs significant reforms before the company commits major capital, according to La Patilla. La Patilla reported that Chevron is investing $7 billion in the country.