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RIYADH: Oil prices fell in early trade on Wednesday before paring some losses, ahead of a meeting OPEC+ producers on fears of a slowdown in global growth hitting fuel demand and a firmer dollar.
Brent crude futures were down 0.50 percent at $100.04 a barrel at 10.15 a.m Saudi time.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures slid 0.50 percent, to $93.89 a barrel.
BP’s head of crude trading to retire
BP’s global head of crude trading Dan Wise will retire at the end of August and will be replaced by Alejandro Arboleda, industry sources said on Tuesday.
Wise has been the global head of crude since 2015 and the role is considered one of the most powerful in the oil industry given BP’s large presence in US crude exports and refining.
Arboleda currently heads BP’s crude trading in the US.
Petrobras leapfrogs oil majors in dividend payouts
Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petrobras will distribute at least twice as much as the biggest international oil producers in second quarter dividends, boosting the government’s coffers amid a tense presidential campaign.
The five biggest Western oil producers — Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., Shell PLC, TotalEnergies and BP — posted record cash distributions to shareholders in recent days between $4 billion and $7.6 billion. But none came close to Petrobras’s $17 billion payout.
Brazil’s government, which controls the producer with a majority of its voting shares, last month asked Petrobras and other state-controlled companies to increase dividends to finance extra federal spending.
Petrobras will distribute about 60 percent more to shareholders than its $10.5 billion profit. Critics said the huge payout will lead to underinvestment in the business.
Petrobras’ dividends were less than at Saudi Arabia’s state-controlled Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, which produces 13 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, almost five times more than Petrobras.
Saudi Aramco has been distributing $18.76 billion to shareholders per quarter. Its next dividend will be disclosed on Aug. 14.
US producer Exxon, which posted the highest quarterly profit of the five, spent $7.6 billion on shareholder distributions.
Dividend payments will be made by Petrobras before the first round of voting, scheduled for Oct. 2.
(With input from Reuters)