Petrobras
Encyclopedia
- Not to be confused with Malaysian oil company PetronasPetronasPETRONAS, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company that was founded on August 17, 1974. Wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia, the corporation is vested with the entire oil and gas resources in Malaysia and is entrusted with the responsibility of developing and...
.
Petróleo Brasileiro or Petrobras ( BM&F Bovespa: PETR3, PETR4 / , / , XPBRA / ) is a semi-public Brazilian multinational
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
energy
Energy industry
The energy industry is the totality of all of the industries involved in the production and sale of energy, including fuel extraction, manufacturing, refining and distribution...
corporation headquartered in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Brazil. It is the largest company in Latin America by market capitalization
Market capitalization
Market capitalization is a measurement of the value of the ownership interest that shareholders hold in a business enterprise. It is equal to the share price times the number of shares outstanding of a publicly traded company...
and revenue
Revenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....
, and the largest company headquartered in the Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
by market value.
Petrobras was founded in 1953. While the company ceased to be Brazil's legal monopolist
Legal monopoly
A legal monopoly, statutory monopoly, or de jure monopoly is a monopoly that is protected by law from competition. A statutory monopoly may take the form of a government monopoly where the state owns the particular means of production or government-granted monopoly where a private interest is...
in the oil industry in 1997, it remains a significant oil producer, with output of more than 2 Moilbbl of oil equivalent per day, as well as a major distributor of oil products. The company also owns oil refineries and oil tankers. Petrobras is a world leader in development of advanced technology from deep-water and ultra-deep water oil production.
In September 2010 Petrobras conducted the largest share sale in history, when US$72.8 billion worth of shares in the company were sold on the BM&F Bovespa stock exchange. Upon the sale Petrobras immediately became the fourth-largest company in the world measured by market capitalisation.
Overview
Petrobras controls significant oil and energy assets in 18 countries in Africa, North America, South America, Europe and Asia. These holdings as well as properties in Brazil give it total assets of $133.5 billion (2008).Petrobras is Latin America's largest company, thanks to 2008 sales of $118.3 billion, according to a ranking from Latin Business Chronicle
Latin Business Chronicle
Latin Business Chronicle is a weekly online journal on Latin American business and technology.-Company information:LBC, a unit of , has around 17,000 readers per month.- Indexes :...
over Latin America's Top 500 Companies.
The Brazilian government directly owns 54% of Petrobras' common shares with voting rights, while the Brazilian Development Bank and Brazil's Sovereign Wealth Fund (Fundo Soberano) each control 5%, bringing the State's direct and indirect ownership to 64%. The privately held shares are traded on BM&F Bovespa, where they are part of the Ibovespa
Índice Bovespa
The Bovespa Index is an index of about 50 stocks that are traded on the São Paulo Stock, Mercantile & Futures Exchange ....
index.
Petrobras began the processing oil shale
Oil shale
Oil shale, an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock, contains significant amounts of kerogen from which liquid hydrocarbons called shale oil can be produced...
in 1953, developing Petrosix
Petrosix
Petrosix is currently the world’s largest surface oil shale pyrolysis retort with an diameter vertical shaft kiln, operational since 1992. It is located in São Mateus do Sul, Brazil, and it is owned and operated by the Brazil energy company Petrobras. Petrosix means also the Petrosix process, an...
technology for extracting oil from oil shale. An industrial size retort began processing shale in the 1990's. In 2006, Petrobas claimed that this industrial retort had a design capacity to process 260 tonnes/hour of oil shale.
Petrobras operated the world's largest oil platform — the Petrobras 36 Oil Platform
Petrobras 36 Oil Platform
Petrobras 36 was at the time the largest floating semi-submersible oil platform in the world prior to its sinking on 20 March 2001. It was owned by Petrobras, a semi-public Brazilian oil company headquartered in Rio de Janeiro...
- until an explosion on 15 March 2001 led to its sinking on 20 March 2001. In 2007, Petrobras inaugurated the Petrobras 52 Oil Platform, replacing the 36. The 52 is the biggest Brazilian oil platform and third in the world.
Petrobras is also recognized as the largest sponsor of arts, culture, and environmental protection in Brazil. Among the environmental initiatives, Petrobras is the main supporter of whale conservation and research through the Brazilian Right Whale Project and the Instituto Baleia Jubarte (Brazilian Humpback Whale Institute). Petrobras has been a sponsor of the Williams
WilliamsF1
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, trading as AT&T Williams, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head...
Formula-1 team. The company employs the H-Bio
H-Bio
H-Bio is an oil refinery process developed in Brazil by the state run oil company Petrobras for refining vegetable oil into standard petroleum products. The process uses hydrogenation to add hydrogen to molecules....
process to produce biodiesel.
According to Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
, as of April 2011, Petrobras is the 8th largest company in the world.
History
Getúlio Vargas
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas served as President of Brazil, first as dictator, from 1930 to 1945, and in a democratically elected term from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Vargas led Brazil for 18 years, the most for any President, and second in Brazilian history to Emperor Pedro II...
, with the support of allies and the opposition alike in Congress.
Petrobras commenced its activities with the collection it inherited from the old National Oil Council (Conselho Nacional do Petróleo, CNP), which, however, preserved its inspection function for the sector.
The oil exploration and production operations, as well as the remaining activities connected to the oil, natural gas, and derivative sector, except for wholesale distribution and retail via service stations, were a monopoly Petrobras held from 1954 to 1997. During this period, Petrobras became the leader in derivative marketing in Brazil, and, thanks to the company’s performance, it was awarded the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in 1992, one which it was granted again in 2001.
After 40 years of exploration, production, refining and transportation of Brazil's oil, Petrobras started to compete with other foreign and domestic companies in 1997. The Brazilian government created the National Petroleum Agency (Agência Nacional do Petróleo, ANP), responsible for the regulation and supervision of activities in the petroleum industry, and the National Council of Energy Policies, a public agency responsible for the development of public energy policy.
In 2003, commemorating its 50 years, Petrobras doubled its daily production of oil and natural gas, surpassing the mark of 2 Moilbbl.
On 21 April 2006, Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , known popularly as Lula, served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.A founding member of the Workers' Party , he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as...
started production on the P-50 oil platform, in the Albacora East Field at Campos Basin, which gave Brazil self-sufficiency in oil production.
In 2009, Petrobras announced a market capitalization plan to finance its future investments in ultra-deep oil exploration. The share offering in the BM&F Bovespa Stock Exchange took place in September 2010, becoming the largest market capitalization in history, with R$ 120,4 billion (US$ 69,97 billion) in shares issued.
Chronology
- 1953: The company is created by president Getúlio VargasGetúlio VargasGetúlio Dornelles Vargas served as President of Brazil, first as dictator, from 1930 to 1945, and in a democratically elected term from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Vargas led Brazil for 18 years, the most for any President, and second in Brazilian history to Emperor Pedro II...
. - 1954-1961: The company faced opposition by the government.
- 1961: A report released by the government reveals pessimistic news about oil prospects in the country's terrains.
- 1963: Creation of Petrobras research center CenpesCenpesThe Centro de Pesquisas Leopoldo Américo Miguez de Mello known as Cenpes is the unit of Research Center of Petrobras responsible for research and development and basic engineering of the company...
. - 1973: The company's short period of growth was met by the first oil crisis1973 oil crisisThe 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
. The crisis affected the country as a whole, as the "Brazilian miracle", fast growth in the national economy, came to a halt. The company itself almost faced bankruptcy. - 1974: Petrobras discovered a huge oil field in Bacia de Campos, which oil reserves raise the company's finances, "resurrecting" its operations nationwide.
- 1975: The company signed "risk contracts" of partnership with private oil companies to intensify the search for new oil fields and to consolidate its influences in the country.
- 1979: Petrobras was affected by second oil crisis1979 energy crisisThe 1979 oil crisis in the United States occurred in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. Amid massive protests, the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, fled his country in early 1979 and the Ayatollah Khomeini soon became the new leader of Iran. Protests severely disrupted the Iranian oil...
, but the effect was not as strong as it had been in the crisis of 1973.
- 1997: The government approved Law N. 9.478, essentially breaking the company's monopoly in Brazil and allowing competitors to develop the country's oil fields. Petrobras also reached the mark of producing 1 Moilbbl per day. The company executed agreements with other Latin American governments and began operations outside of Brazilian domains.
- 2000: The company reached the world record of oil exploration in deep waters, at 1,877 meters below sea level.
- 2001: An accident occurred at the P-36 PlatformPetrobras 36 Oil PlatformPetrobras 36 was at the time the largest floating semi-submersible oil platform in the world prior to its sinking on 20 March 2001. It was owned by Petrobras, a semi-public Brazilian oil company headquartered in Rio de Janeiro...
, which was the world's biggest oil platform. The platform, owing to technical failures, sank on 20 March with about 1500 tons of oil. - 2003: The company acquired Argentina's largest oil company Perez Companc Energía (PECOM Energía S.A.), and its operational bases in BoliviaBoliviaBolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
and ParaguayParaguayParaguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
. - 2006: Petrobras achieved Brazilian self-sufficiency in oil.
- 2007: The company recorded its highest earnings ever, with more than US$13 billion of profit. The company announced the discovery of the giant gas field "Jupiter", in SantosSantos (São Paulo)-Sister cities: Shimonoseki, Japan Nagasaki, Japan Funchal, Portugal Trieste, Italy Coimbra, Portugal Ansião, Portugal Arouca, Portugal Ushuaia, Argentina Havana, Cuba Taizhou. China Ningbo. China Constanţa, Romania Ulsan, South Korea Colón, Panama* Cadiz, Spain...
. Value of the company's shares increased by about 106%, from February to December. - 2008: The company discovered what could be the world's third largest oil field. The actual reserves are yet to be verified, however.
- 2009: Petrobras acquired EssoEssoEsso is an international trade name for ExxonMobil and its related companies. Pronounced , it is derived from the initials of the pre-1911 Standard Oil, and as such became the focus of much litigation and regulatory restriction in the United States. In 1972, it was largely replaced in the U.S. by...
's distribution business in ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. - 2010: Petrobras raises US$70 billion in largest share offering ever, as it seeks to explore and produce Brazil's massive offshore oil reserves.
Bolivian controversy
On May 2006, Bolivia's president Evo MoralesEvo Morales
Juan Evo Morales Ayma , popularly known as Evo , is a Bolivian politician and activist, currently serving as the 80th President of Bolivia, a position that he has held since 2006. He is also the leader of both the Movement for Socialism party and the cocalero trade union...
announced the nationalization of all gas and oil fields in the country
Geology of Bolivia
The geology of Bolivia compromises a variety of different lithologies as well as tectonic and sedimentary environments. On a synoptic scale, geological units coincide with topographical units, to begin the country is divided into a mountainous western area affected by the subduction processes in...
. Evo Morales ordered the occupation of all fields by the Bolivian Army. Petrobras was heavily affected by the nationalization. At the time, the company's Bolivian subsidiary had great importance in the country's economy:
- Petrobras represented 24% of the Bolivian industrial taxes, 18% of the country's GDP and 20% of the foreign investments.
- The company operated in 46% of the oil reserves in Bolivia and was responsible for 75% of the country's gas exports to Brazil.
- The company invested, between 1994 and 2005, US$1.5 billion in the Bolivian economy.
The nationalization strained the relationship between Petrobras and the Bolivian government. On October 28, 2006, after a long negotiation, Petrobras and Bolivia signed an agreement, whereby the company would take 18% of the profits, and the Bolivian government would take the remainder.
Business
Petrobras' most important assets are petroleum reserves in Brazil. Its oil field in the Campos Basin accounts more than 80% of the Brazilian oil production. The company also works on developing the "green energy", including biodieselBiodiesel
Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids with an alcohol....
fuel. Petrobras recently opened its business to the ethanol
Ethanol
Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...
fuel, facing great competition against the North American ethanol. However, investment in biofuels will represent only 1% of the company's profit between 2008 and 2012.
Petrobras is involved in the following areas of business:
- Domestic sales: Domestic sales represent the majority of the company's profit and include the extraction and distribution of oil, natural gas, derivatives, electricity and petrochemical products;
- Export: The main exports are not of oil extraction itself, but are related to mechanic technologies. However, it is planned that the company starts to export oil in large quantities when it begins to explore the Jupiter and the Tupi fields (see "List of recent oil field discoveries");
- Foreign exchange gains: The company imports natural gas from other South American countries, mostly from Bolivia. According to the Brazilian group National Petroleum Agency, Petrobras owns Brazil's largest and most important gas pipe network, having a near monopoly of the natural gas marketed in the country.
Petrobras works extensively with foreign acquisitions too, buying and controlling some of the most important energy companies in South America and exploring huge deep-water fields of West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
and the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
. Petrobras is known for its technology in deep-water exploration. The Tupi field, which could be the world's third largest oil field (although data is still unverified), is a deep-water discovery, located in the pre-salt layer
Pre-salt layer
The Pre-Salt layer is a geological formation on the continental shelves off the coast of Africa and Brazil. The layer is of importance because it often holds significant petrochemical resources. According to Petrobras, the oil and natural gas lie below an approximately 2000 m deep layer of salt,...
.
The company began to increase profits from 2002, with the government's heavy investments. In the first quarter of 2008, Petrobras reached the market value of US$295.6 billion, surpassing Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
(US$274 billion) and becoming America's third largest company, ahead of giant oil companies such as BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
and Chevron-Texaco, and only behind of ExxonMobil
ExxonMobil
Exxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil, is an American multinational oil and gas corporation. It is a direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil company, and was formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. Its headquarters are in Irving, Texas...
and General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
. Petrobras' market value is also bigger than Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. is the largest bank in the world by profit and market capitalization. It is one China's 'Big Four' state-owned commercial banks .It was founded as a limited company on January 1, 1984...
(US$289.3 billion), making it the sixth biggest company by market value in the world.
Comparison with world-wide companies
| Company | Reserves (MM boe) | Current Years of Production | Oil & Gas Production (1000s boe/d) 2006 | Oil & Gas Production Growth (%) 2006 |
| Petrobras | 11,457 | 14.2 | 2,287 | 4.5 |
| BP BP BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"... |
17,368 | 10.4 | 3,926 | -1.9 |
| ChevronTexaco | 11,020 | 10.9 | 2,667 | 6.1 |
| ExxonMobil ExxonMobil Exxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil, is an American multinational oil and gas corporation. It is a direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil company, and was formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. Its headquarters are in Irving, Texas... |
21,518 | 11.3 | 4,238 | 3.8 |
| Royal Dutch Shell Royal Dutch Shell Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six... |
11,108 | 6.7 | 3,474 | -1.0 |
Growth
- Rising prices: the company profited from rising oil prices in 2007-2008.
- Increasing demand: oil demand has increased drastically in the emergent countries, for which Petrobras exports its technologies. The BRIC countries' (Brazil itself, Russia, India and China) growth explains this huge demand. The Brazilian self-sufficiency in Petroleum (as of May 2006) allowed the company to export small quantities of oil.
- Political issues: despite of being nearly half privately owned, the majority of shares belong to the Brazilian government, which gives it control of the company's finances and operations. The recent growth of the company is explained by political stability. Since 1997 the Brazilian oil market was opened to foreign investments, but Petrobras continues to be the largest oil company in the country, enjoying a near monopoly.
Oil reserves
At the 20th National Forum, it was revealed that Petrobras, with 11.7 Goilbbl of oil, has the fourth biggest oil reserves among petrochemical companies with publicly traded shares. The figure does not include the recent discoveries in the mega-fields of Tupi, Jupiter, Carioca and Bem-te-vi.Profitability
The discovery of large reserves in Santos increased its stock price by about 19% in one day.Petrobras is considered the most reliable Blue Chip of the Bovespa Stock Exchange. While the North American Crisis of 2007 decreased the value of the stocks of a great majority of stock markets in the world, Petrobras helped hold the Bovespa's activities steady, making it one of the least affected stock exchanges in the world by the crisis.
Investment grade
On 30 April 2008, Brazil received an "investment grade" rating from Standard & Poor'sStandard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's is a United States-based financial services company. It is a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks and bonds. It is well known for its stock-market indices, the US-based S&P 500, the Australian S&P/ASX 200, the Canadian...
, given to countries with stable and consistent growing economy. According to Standard & Poor's, Brazil jumped from a BB+ grade to a BBB-, the minimum level any country needs to reach to receive the grade. Petrobras played a big part in the country's growth, and the high rating would be useful in attracting foreign investments.
Investors often criticize the company for not increasing gasoline prices in Brazil, in spite of increasing prices in the international market. The company is having problems adapting its business to the ethanol
Ethanol
Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...
market.
Devaluation
After a great advance on its stock shares (reaching 52.30 Brazilian realBrazilian real
The real is the present-day currency of Brazil. Its sign is R$ and its ISO code is BRL. It is subdivided into 100 centavos ....
(R$) in Ibovespa) in May 2008, Petrobras faced a devaluation in the following month, its shares decreasing to R$43.90 on 19 June 2008. The most probable explanation for the great fall was the lack of information about the mega-fields recently discovered by the company. The great instability in Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
's markets also had great weight in those results.
Petrobras' fall also led to bad results on the entire BM&F Bovespa, as Petrobras and Vale accounts for more than 25% of BM&F Bovespa's trade value, the devaluation of those companies' shares led it to lose more than 6,000 points in just 25 days.
However, with the continuous decrease of oil prices, Petrobras' stock shares fell to R$33,00 on 14 August 2008. Its market cap presented the biggest loss of value in the Americas, with US$93 billion (13 August 2008).
Milestones
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- On 19 December 2005, Petrobras announced a contract with the Japanese Nippon Alcohol Hanbai to launch a joint-venture. The project named Brazil-Japan Ethanol would import ethanolEthanolEthanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...
from Brazil, in a bid to develop an ethanol market in Japan. - On 21 April 2006, while on board the Petrobras P-50 oil rig, a floating production storage and offloadingFloating Production Storage and OffloadingA floating production, storage and offloading unit is a floating vessel used by the offshore industry for the processing of hydrocarbons and for storage of oil. A FPSO vessel is designed to receive hydrocarbons produced from nearby platforms or subsea template, process them, and store oil until it...
vessel, President Luiz Inácio Lula da SilvaLuiz Inácio Lula da SilvaLuiz Inácio Lula da Silva , known popularly as Lula, served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.A founding member of the Workers' Party , he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as...
announced Brazil's self-sufficiency in petroleum,. - In November 2007, Petrobras announced a discovery of a major new oil field off the coast of Rio de JaneiroRio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
. The Tupi oil fieldTupi oil fieldTupi oil field is a large oil field located in the Santos Basin, off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The field was named in honor of the Tupi people and is considered to be Western Hemisphere's largest oil discovery of the last 30 years.-History:...
in the Santos BasinSantos BasinThe Santos Basin is an offshore pre-salt basin. It is located in the south Atlantic Ocean, some south east of São Paulo, Brazil. One of the largest Brazilian sedimentary basins, it is the site of several recent significant oil fields, including Tupi and Jupiter....
had an estimated reserve of 5 billion to 8 Goilbbl. The figure would put Tupi as the world's largest oil reserve since the discovery of Kashagan in KazakhstanKazakhstanKazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
in 2000. The country's reserves would increase by 62 per cent, and Tupi's reserve would be on par with Norway’s 8.5 Goilbbl of proven oil reserves . - The Financial TimesFinancial TimesThe Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
listed Petrobras as one of the world's 50 largest companies in 2007. - On January 21, 2008, Petrobras announced the discovery of JupiterJupiter fieldOn January 21, 2008, Petrobras announced the discovery of the Jupiter field, a huge natural gas and condensate field which could equal the Tupi oil field in size . It is located in the Santos Basin, east of Tupi, below the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in a water depth of , from Rio de Janeiro....
, a huge oil field which could equal the Tupi oil field. It is located 37 km (23 mi) from Tupi, 5100 m (16,732.3 ft) below the Atlantic Ocean, 290 km (180 mi) from Rio de JaneiroRio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
. - On April 14, 2008, a second massive oil field was announced in the same region as the Tupi oil field with reserves estimated at 33 Goilbbl of oil.
- On May 21, 2008, Petrobras announced the discovery of a third megafield, located on the coast of the State of São Paulo.
- On May 19, 2009, Petrobras finalized a $10 billion loan from China in return for a ten years long supply of oil (150000 barrels (23,848.1 m³) a day the first year, 200000 barrels (31,797.5 m³) a day the nine others)
List of recent oil field discoveries
From 2002-2005, Petrobras doubled its success rate at drilling new wells.| Date | Basin | Field | API gravity API gravity The American Petroleum Institute gravity, or API gravity, is a measure of how heavy or light a petroleum liquid is compared to water. If its API gravity is greater than 10, it is lighter and floats on water; if less than 10, it is heavier and sinks... |
| April 18, 2006 | Espirito Santo | Golfinho | 38 |
| July 11, 2006 | Santos | Tupi | 30 |
| March 2, 2007 | Campos | Caxareu | 30 |
| June 8, 2007 | Espirito Santo | Pirambu | 29 |
| September 5, 2007 | Santos | Tupi | 27 |
| September 10, 2007 | Campos | Xerelete | 17 |
| September 20, 2007 | Santos | Tupi Sul | 28 |
| December 21, 2007 | Santos | Caramba | 27 |
| January 21, 2008 | Santos | Jupiter | Huge Gas field |
| May 21, 2008 | Santos | Bem-Te-Vi | 36 |
| May 29, 2008 | Santos | Tiro | 36 |
| June 12, 2008 | Santos | Guará | 28 |
| July 14, 2008 | Espirito Santo | Golfinho | 27 |
| August 20, 2008 | Campos | Aruanã | 28 |
| September 26, 2008 | Santos | Sidon | 36 |
| November 21, 2008 | Espirito Santo | Jubarte | 30 |
| November 25, 2008 | Jequitinhonha | BM-J-3 | ? |
| January 26, 2009 | Santos | Piracucá | ? |
| April 8, 2009 | Santos | Corcovado-1 | ? |
| November 16, 2009 | Campos | Marimbá | 29 |
Mega-fields
The company's most important discoveries started at the end of 2007, when the first mega-field, named TupiTupi oil field
Tupi oil field is a large oil field located in the Santos Basin, off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The field was named in honor of the Tupi people and is considered to be Western Hemisphere's largest oil discovery of the last 30 years.-History:...
, was found at a depth of 5,000 meters below the sea level, the first discovery of the company in the pre-salt layer
Pre-salt layer
The Pre-Salt layer is a geological formation on the continental shelves off the coast of Africa and Brazil. The layer is of importance because it often holds significant petrochemical resources. According to Petrobras, the oil and natural gas lie below an approximately 2000 m deep layer of salt,...
. The second discovery was announced on January 21, 2008: the new mega-field was named Jupiter
Jupiter field
On January 21, 2008, Petrobras announced the discovery of the Jupiter field, a huge natural gas and condensate field which could equal the Tupi oil field in size . It is located in the Santos Basin, east of Tupi, below the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in a water depth of , from Rio de Janeiro....
and had the same size as Tupi. The company revealed no more information about the field, forcing many investors to regard those facts as an "industrial secret".
On May 21, 2008, the company announced the discovery of a third oil megafield, located 250 km distant from the state of São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, at a depth between 6000 and 6300 meters below sea level. The discovery was made by a consortium formed by Petrobras (66% of participation), Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
(20%) and Galp Energia
Galp Energia
The Galp Energia Group is a Portuguese corporation which consists of more than 100 companies engaged in activities such as natural gas supply, regasification, transport, storage, and distribution; petroleum products exploration, production, refining, trading, logistics and retailing; co-generation...
(14%). The field's oil reserves had an API gravity
API gravity
The American Petroleum Institute gravity, or API gravity, is a measure of how heavy or light a petroleum liquid is compared to water. If its API gravity is greater than 10, it is lighter and floats on water; if less than 10, it is heavier and sinks...
between 25 and 28.
Criticisms
According to the Brazilian economy website InfoMoney.com, North American stock companies are considering the oil mega-field discoveries suspicious. On May 24, 2008, the company's shares fell 4% because of the scarce information given by Petrobras about the fields.An article written by Roberto Altenhofen Pires Pereira for InfoMoney.com said (translated from Portuguese):
Reputation
By the end of 2003, Petrobras subscribed to the United Nations Global Compact, a voluntary agreement which encompasses a set of principles regarding human rightsHuman rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, working conditions and the environment
Environment (biophysical)
The biophysical environment is the combined modeling of the physical environment and the biological life forms within the environment, and includes all variables, parameters as well as conditions and modes inside the Earth's biosphere. The biophysical environment can be divided into two categories:...
.
The company's growth since 2006 has made Petrobras the most profitable company in the Brazilian economy, and gave it great importance worldwide, being recognized as the eighth biggest oil exploring company in the world.
Since 2006 Petrobras has been listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index
Dow Jones Sustainability Index
Launched in September 1999, the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes are a family of indexes evaluating the performance of the world’s leaders in sustainability. They are the longest-running global sustainability benchmarks worldwide and have become the key reference point in Sustainability Investing...
, an important reference index for environmentally and socially responsible investors.
On February 25, 2008, the Spanish consultancy firm Management and Excellence acknowledged Petrobras as the world's most sustainable oil company.
The civil society named Transparency International, which fights against global corruption, published a list on April 28, 2008 containing the names of 42 companies with high transparency levels, in which Petrobras was included.
In May 2008, World Trademark Review
World Trademark Review
World Trademark Review is a website and magazine covering the commercial and international practice of trademark law. Subscribers receive a print magazine once every other month and a daily email newsletter featuring news stories, feature articles and legal updates from a panel of trademark...
magazine awarded the Petrobras trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
team with an Industry Award for Latin American Team of the Year, a category in which Petrobras competed with Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
, Pepsico
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...
, and Procter and Gamble.
Global operations
Petrobras global operations extends over 27 countries (including Brazil). Those operations are more related to diplomatic trades than oil exploration, although the company has important fields in India, TurkeyTurkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
and Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. The most important countries for commercial agreements are Japan, United Kingdom and China. The complete map can be seen in Petrobras official link Petrobras Worldwide.
Petrobras is a member of the following international associations:
- ARPEL (Asociación Regional de Empresas de Petroleo y Gas Natural en Latinoamérica y el Caribe)
- IPIECA (International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association)
- OGP (International Association of Oil and Gas Producers)
- WBCSD (World Business Council for Sustainable DevelopmentWorld Business Council for Sustainable DevelopmentThe World Business Council for Sustainable Development is a CEO-led, global association of some 200 international companies dealing exclusively with business and sustainable development....
)
Offices
| Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th... - Headquarters, R&D Center, Financial & Main Operations - 9 buildings Salvador Salvador, Bahia Salvador is the largest city on the northeast coast of Brazil and the capital of the Northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Salvador is also known as Brazil's capital of happiness due to its easygoing population and countless popular outdoor parties, including its street carnival. The first... - Financial Operations Backoffice Macae Macaé Macaé is a city located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, 180 km northeast of the state capital. Its population was recorded as 206,748 in 2010 and the municipal covers an area of 1,216 km².... - Campos Basin Campos Basin Campos Basin is a petroleum rich area located offshore of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It has a total area of 100,000 square kilometres, with 40 fields discovered and operated by Petrobras.... Office Santos - Santos Basin Santos Basin The Santos Basin is an offshore pre-salt basin. It is located in the south Atlantic Ocean, some south east of São Paulo, Brazil. One of the largest Brazilian sedimentary basins, it is the site of several recent significant oil fields, including Tupi and Jupiter.... Office Beijing Beijing Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's... Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... Singapore Singapore Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the... Ankara Ankara Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million.... Tehran Tehran Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to... London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... Mexico City Mexico City Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole... Houston Caracas Caracas Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range... Havana Havana Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous... |
Bogotá Bogotá Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district... Quito Quito San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains... Lima Lima Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima... Asunción Asunción Asunción is the capital and largest city of Paraguay.The "Ciudad de Asunción" is an autonomous capital district not part of any department. The metropolitan area, called Gran Asunción, includes the cities of San Lorenzo, Fernando de la Mora, Lambaré, Luque, Mariano Roque Alonso, Ñemby, San... Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent... Santiago Santiago, Chile Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level... Montevideo Montevideo Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento... Santa Cruz de la Sierra Santa Cruz de la Sierra Santa Cruz de la Sierra, commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the capital of the Santa Cruz department in eastern Bolivia and the largest city in the country... Tripoli Tripoli Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three... Lagos Lagos Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa... Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ... Luanda Luanda Luanda, formerly named São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda, is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola's chief seaport and its administrative center. It has a population of at least 5 million... Rotterdam Rotterdam Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre... |
Petrobras in New Zealand
In June 2010, Petrobras was granted a five-year permit for exploration of the Raukumara Basin, off the East Cape of New Zealand. April 2011 and the Orient Explorer began surveying off the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. GreenpeaceGreenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
protestors, in opposition to the deal between the New Zealand government and Petrobras, attempted to halt the work by swimming in front of the survey ship. Local Maori felt the risk to the local waters and fish stocks, should oil be found and drilling go ahead, was too high a price and that better consultation with local people was required.
Petrobras in popular culture
- Petrobras maintains a high budget to fund Brazil's cultural production, such as films, theatre plays and scholarly works. It is the largest sponsor of culture in Brazil since the 1990s.
- In the Speed RacerSpeed Racer (film)Speed Racer is a 2008 American live action film adaptation of Tatsuo Yoshida's 1960s Japanese anime series of the same name, produced by Tatsunoko Productions. The film is written and directed by the Wachowskis...
live-action movie, one of the cars featured is the "Green Energy", a biodieselBiodieselBiodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids with an alcohol....
fueled racing car sponsored by Petrobras. - Petrobras currently sponsors River PlateClub Atlético River PlateClub Atlético River Plate is an Argentine sports club based in the Nuñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently competes in Nacional B, the second tier of Argentine football....
in Argentina. - Petrobras is the main sponsor of the 2011 Chilean Primera División season2011 Chilean Primera División seasonThe 2011 Primera División del Fútbol Profesional Chileno season is the 80th season of top-flight football in Chile...
. - Petrobras was a secondary sponsor for the AT&T WilliamsF1 TeamWilliamsF1Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, trading as AT&T Williams, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head...
from 1998 to 2008. - Petrobras was a sponsor for FlamengoClube de Regatas do FlamengoClube de Regatas do Flamengo , also known as Flamengo and familiarly as Mengão, is a Brazilian sports club based in the Flamengo bairro, Zona Sul, Rio de Janeiro, best known for its professional football team...
in Brazil from 1984 to 2009.
See also
- History of Brazil (1945-1964)History of Brazil (1945-1964)The period between 1946 and 1964 in Brazilian history is known as the Second Republic . It was marked by political instability....
- Ethanol fuel in BrazilEthanol fuel in BrazilBrazil is the world's second largest producer of ethanol fuel and the world's largest exporter. Together, Brazil and the United States lead the industrial production of ethanol fuel, accounting together for 87.8% of the world's production in 2010. In 2010 Brazil produced 26.2 billion litres Brazil...
- Petrobras 36 Oil PlatformPetrobras 36 Oil PlatformPetrobras 36 was at the time the largest floating semi-submersible oil platform in the world prior to its sinking on 20 March 2001. It was owned by Petrobras, a semi-public Brazilian oil company headquartered in Rio de Janeiro...
- PetrosixPetrosixPetrosix is currently the world’s largest surface oil shale pyrolysis retort with an diameter vertical shaft kiln, operational since 1992. It is located in São Mateus do Sul, Brazil, and it is owned and operated by the Brazil energy company Petrobras. Petrosix means also the Petrosix process, an...
- TranspetroTranspetroPetrobras Transporte S.A. is the largest oil and gas transportation company of Brazil. Transpetro works with transportation and storage activities of oil and byproducts, ethanol, biofuels and natural gas...
- Tupi oil fieldTupi oil fieldTupi oil field is a large oil field located in the Santos Basin, off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The field was named in honor of the Tupi people and is considered to be Western Hemisphere's largest oil discovery of the last 30 years.-History:...
- EletrobrasEletrobrásEletrobras is a major Brazilian power utility. It's also Latin America's biggest power utility company, tenth largest in the world and is also the fourth largest clean energy company in the world. It is currently expanding its operations in the continent, as well as in Africa. The company's full...
- Walter K. LinkWalter K. Link-Career:In 1926, Walter Link went to work for the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey as a junior geologist mapping deposits in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. His work for Standard Oil then took him to Indonesia, Ada, Oklahoma, and the American Gulf Coast...