Major global oil firms snubbed a second Brazilian oil auction in a row on Thursday, passing up offshore blocks and forcing officials to reconsider a bidding system that gives a privileged position to state-run Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4.SA). The only block awarded in Thursday’s bidding went to Petrobras, as the Brazilian state-run firm is known, and Chinese state firm CNODC, a unit of China National Petroleum Corp, which offered the minimum bid. Four other blocks received no bids. The result, following a lack of foreign interest in an even bigger Wednesday round, was a wake-up call to those who expected this week ... (full story)