Petrobras Eyes Asia Markets as 50% US Tariff Spurs Oil Reroute

Petrobras Chief Executive Officer Magda Chambriard said the state-controlled producer may shift crude cargoes currently bound for the United States to buyers in Asia and the Pacific after Washington imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian oil last week. Chambriard told Reuters that the U.S. market is "not essential" for the company and that alternative destinations are already being considered. Oil and gas account for a significant share of Brazil’s exports to the United States, but Chambriard argued that the levy would have limited impact on Petrobras’ overall sales strategy. The firm has been expanding its presence in Asia, where refineries have shown growing demand for Latin American grades. Separately, Colombia’s Ecopetrol exported 200 tonnes of light paraffin wax to Brazil, its first direct shipment of the product to that market. The company expects the operation to generate an additional profit of between US$30 and US$45 per tonne and plans to scale exports of surplus production to other Latin American countries later this year.