AmericasFinance and InsuranceOffshore

Petrobras secures $1bn loan to pay some debt obligations

Petrobras, Brazil’s corruption-plagued and debt-burdened state oil firm, has secured a loan of $1bn from a syndicate headed by Standard Chartered PLC.

With Petrobras carrying $88bn in debts, the loan will be used to pay off some of it debt obligations.

The company is at the centre of a massive bribes-for-inflated-contracts scheme that has cost it billions and has seen the downfall of executives at Petrobras and contractor firms as well as top-level politicians.

South America’s leading oil and gas company, Petrobras has been hit by the corruption and the plunge in the price of oil.

It has been tightening budgets, laying off staff and cutting back investments to reduce the debt. And it has also been divesting itself of assets. In 2016 it raised $13.6bn that way. The target for the two years after that is $21.4bn.

In that vein, Petrobras has announced the intention to sell its entire stake in Petrobras Oil & Gas B.V., a joint venture with investment bank BTG Pactual.

Donal Scully

With 28 years experience writing and editing for newspapers in the UK and Hong Kong, Donal is now based in California from where he covers the Americas for Splash as well as ensuring the site is loaded through the Western Hemisphere timezone.
Back to top button