Petrobras CEO sees volatility in the price of oil

Speaking at a press conference held in conjunction with the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston recently, Chief Executive of Brazil’s Petrobras, Sergio Gabrielli, said volatility will be the keyword for oil markets in the near term.  Gabrielli gives as reasons for this volatility, the unrest in the Arab world, concerns about supply, and monetary policies in developed countries, including the United States.  He states that low interest rates in the U.S. are driving up the price of crude oil, but as the U.S. tightens its monetary policy, this will add to the unknown in oil prices.  Petrobras is not likely to increase the prices for domestic gasoline or diesel fuel anytime soon, even as the price of crude oil rises. “There is just too much volatility in the near term,” said Gabrielli.  Petrobras has been working to bring down the costs of offshore oil drilling in the deep rich reservoirs off the coast of Brazil.  (May 4, 2011)