A Brazilian court on Thursday ruled that state oil firm Petrobras did not have the right to cancel a contract with Houston, Texas-based deep-water drilling contractor Diamond Offshore Drilling, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The surprise decision referred to Petrobras’ cancellation of a contract for the rig Ocean Valor in August 2016.
It was one of numerous retrenchment decisions Petrobras has made in the past year as it tries to lessen its huge debt burden while under a cloud caused by a massive bribes-for-inflated-contracts scandal.
While this verdict from an appellate court can itself be appealed by the oil giant, for the time being it gives a glimmer of hope to Diamond Offshore, which itself has been struggling financially because of the oil slump.