Brazilian federal police on Thursday arrested a former head of Petrobras and the Banco do Brasil, marking a new chapter of the sweeping graft probe into the state-owned oil company. Three people were detained in the operation, the prosecutor's office said in a statement, as part of the Car Wash investigation that has uncovered systemic corruption and ensnared many of Brazil's political and business elites.
Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras may be forced to pay 7.3 billion Reais (US$1.9 billion) in back taxes and fines after a decision by the country's tax authority Carf, newspaper Valor Economico reported on Wednesday.
Brazil’s government-owned oil giant Petrobras should cede some of its drilling rights to foreign firms, Royal Dutch Shell Oil CEO Ben van Beurden was quoted saying in Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper.
Brazil's state-controlled oil company Petrobras said it increased its crude production last year by 4.6% relative to 2014, exceeding the target set forth in its business plan for the first time in 13 years. Oil output in 2015 amounted to an average of 2.128 million barrels per day (bpd), up 0.15% from the 2.125 million bpd forecast by the company.
Petrobras, Brazil's largest corporation, carried out asset sales and underwent a restructuring this year in response to a severe financial crisis, emerging smaller but with a more profitable and productive future ahead, CEO Aldemir Bendini said Tuesday.