Anti-austerity protests hit Petrobras

Brazil's oil sector is in the grip of the worst strike in decades, threatening plans to reform the sector and ease the dreaded local content law - as well as hitting output

Brazil's state Petrobras has faced a revolt from the country's oil workers over plans to slash spending, shelve oil projects and sell assets. Strikes over the first three weeks of November shut down dozens of offshore platforms and disrupted downstream operations. Around 100,000 barrels a day (b/d) of output - 5% of Brazil's total - has been shut in, according to Petrobras, though the striking union workers put the figure much higher. It has disrupted Brazil's oil sector more than any strike in the last two decades. The strikers are demanding Petrobras' new management rip up its austerity plans. In response to the plunging oil price, a crippling corruption scandal, mounting debt and the fall