Oil — the daily wrap. Offshore production capacity keeps growing from Brazil to Guyana. Photo: Bob Adams, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

01 The session in one read

Friday, August 28 was a quietly lower day for crude as the USO fund, the liquid U.S. exchange-traded product tracking front-month WTI futures, settled at US$129.70, down 0.24%. The pullback came as markets digested two forces: signs the U.S. Federal Reserve remains wary of inflation, which can cool expectations for energy demand, and tentative reports of progress on securing tanker passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

That second factor mattered most. Hormuz is the narrow waterway through which a large share of Middle Eastern crude reaches global buyers, and any easing of disruption risk trims the premium built into prices earlier in August.

02 The board

Petrobras stood out against the soft tape, with its New York-listed shares rising 1.53% to US$18.53. That diverged from YPF, the Argentine producer leading the Vaca Muerta shale play, which fell 0.55% to US$50.20, and from Ecopetrol, the Colombian state-controlled producer, down 0.36% to US$16.50.

The board tells a story of differentiation: Petrobras earned its gain on company-specific pre-salt news, while the other Latin American majors drifted with the macro mood rather than any local catalyst.

Source: RT close, 2026-08-28. Where a commodity has no spot feed, an exchange-traded tracker or leading producer is shown as a labelled proxy.

What Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras does. Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras explores, produces, and sells oil and gas in Brazil, China, the United States, the Americas, Asia, Europe, Singapore, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Exploration and Production; Refining, Transportation & Marketing; and Gas & Low Carbon Energies. The Exploration and Production segment explores, develops, and produces…

03 What moved it

The day’s dominant driver was the softening of geopolitical risk around the Strait of Hormuz, as reports circulated of possible agreements to ease tanker movement. In the background, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s continued focus on inflation suggested interest rates may stay higher for longer, a stance that historically weighs on future oil demand growth.

Brent crude traded around US$89 to US$89.3 per barrel, down roughly 0.4 to 0.5% on the day, while WTI held close to US$83.4. Both benchmarks reflected a market more focused on shipping flows and monetary policy than on any fresh supply shock.

04 The Latin American read

Brazil’s pre-salt remains the region’s most reliable growth engine. Investors pushed Petrobras higher on Friday after reports highlighted that two platforms in the Búzios field, P-80 and P-82, are nearing deployment with about 450,000 barrels per day of combined capacity.

Guyana keeps writing the other structural story. Government data put Stabroek Block output around 869,000 barrels per day in June, down from 918,000 in February, but the Errea Wittu floating vessel arrived off the coast around August 20-21. Its roughly 250,000 barrels per day capacity from the Uaru development should lift national production above one million barrels per day once fully onstream, with first oil guided for September or the fourth quarter.

05 The names to watch

Petrobras is the clearest beneficiary of Brazil’s pre-salt economics, where some of the world’s most productive wells sit in ultra-deep water. The Búzios field additions give the company a visible multi-year volume story even if global crude stays rangebound.

YPF remains the proxy for Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale, where liquefied natural gas and export infrastructure development matter more than daily Brent moves. Ecopetrol, by contrast, lacks a comparable near-term catalyst, which explains why its shares tracked the softer oil tape on Friday.

06 The outlook

The near-term question is whether Hormuz shipping progress holds or reverses, since that single corridor can add or remove a substantial risk premium within hours. Beyond that, the Fed’s inflation posture will set the demand-side tone into the year-end.

For Latin America specifically, the fourth quarter start-up of Guyana’s Uaru development and the deployment of Brazil’s Búzios platforms are the concrete supply events that should keep regional producers outperforming any modest pullback in the commodity itself.

07 What to watch

• Uaru first oil timing: Whether Guyana’s Errea Wittu starts in September or slips to the fourth quarter determines if national output crosses one million barrels per day in 2026.
• Strait of Hormuz shipping: Any breakdown in tentative tanker passage agreements could quickly rebuild the geopolitical premium that eased on Friday.
• Fed policy signals: Continued inflation vigilance from the U.S. central bank would cap demand growth expectations and weigh on crude benchmarks.
• Búzios platform deployment: P-80 and P-82 advancing toward start-up keeps Petrobras volumes rising, giving its shares a buffer against softer Brent and WTI.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does USO track?

The USO fund tracks front-month WTI crude futures, and it settled at US$129.70 on Friday, August 28.

Why did Petrobras rise while oil fell?

Petrobras gained 1.53% to US$18.53 because investors focused on two Búzios pre-salt platforms nearing deployment with about 450,000 barrels per day of combined capacity.

What is Guyana’s next oil milestone?

The Errea Wittu vessel arrived around August 20-21 and targets first oil from the Uaru development in September or Q4, adding roughly 250,000 barrels per day.

Who owns Guyana’s Stabroek Block?

The consortium is ExxonMobil 45%, Chevron through Hess 30%, and CNOOC 25%, with Guyana’s take at 39.8% of output including royalties after cost recovery milestones.

Market data: RT

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error

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