CAPE ST. GEORGE

Brazil's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA said in a letter to the workers union on Thursday that it will idle six oil and gas platforms in five fields of the Campos basin due to the coronavirus epidemic.The company said the idling was aimed at reducing costs in the middle of the crisis hitting the oil industry, the letter seen by Reuters said.It comes at a time when Petrobras is trying to adapt to the new scenario of oil prices that have fallen about 50% this year due to the retreat in demand during the pandemic and the price war sparked by Russia and Saudi Arabia.The letter dated on Wednesday said the current crisis was the worst in 100 years.

Eastern Shipbuilding said the U.S. Coast Guard executed a modification to the contract to build the second Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) and Long Lead Time Materials for the third OPC. These accomplishments result from successful completion of a Production Readiness Review (PRR) in February 2020.Eastern’s President Joey D’Isernia said, "Today represents not only the continuation of production for the USCG’s future replacement of their 210-foot and 270-foot class Medium Endurance Cutters, but also an important step in the continuing recovery of Northwest Florida and ESG post Hurricane Michael.

OPEC, Russia and other allies outlined plans on Thursday to cut their oil output by more than a fifth and said they expected the United States and other producers to join in their effort to prop up prices hammered by the coronavirus crisis.But the group, known as OPEC+, said a final agreement was dependent on Mexico signing up to the pact after it balked at the production cuts it was asked to make. Discussions among top global energy ministers will resume on Friday.The planned output curbs by OPEC+ amount to 10 million barrels per day (bpd) or 10% of global supplies, with another 5 million bpd expected to come from other nations to help deal with the deepest oil crisis in decades.

Work is underway to retrieve dozens of containers lost from a containership off the coast of Australia, with the first boxes raised to the surface this week. The first container was recovered from the seafloor on Monday using a hydraulic crane and rigging, remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV) and a specially manufactured steel basket, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said. Another two boxes were lifted in the days following.The recovered containers are among more than 80 lost from containership YM Efficiency in the Tasman Sea, about 30 kilometers off Australia's east coast, in 2018. To date, 62 containers have been located on the seafloor while another 14 are still missing.

Australian police said on Thursday they have taken the “black box” of a cruise ship which disembarked hundreds of passengers infected with the coronavirus in Sydney, as part of a homicide investigation into the country’s deadliest infection source.The investigation got underway as the Australian authorities said the rate of new coronavirus infections hit its lowest number in three weeks and began arranging more flights to bring home citizens stranded abroad.The Ruby Princess cruise ship, owned by Carnival Corp, has become a flashpoint of public anger in Australia after authorities granted the ship permission to disembark its 2,700 passengerslast month without health checks.