Petrobras

Infobox_Company
company_name = Petróleo Brasileiro S.A.
company_
company_type = Semi-Public (Bovespa: [http://www.bovespa.com.br/Cotacoes2000/CotacaoRapidaHome.Asp?PaginaReferente=PosicaoGeralPregao.Asp&txtCodigo=PETR3 PETR3] / [http://www.bovespa.com.br/Cotacoes2000/CotacaoRapidaHome.Asp?PaginaReferente=PosicaoGeralPregao.Asp&txtCodigo=PETR4 PETR4] ) (NYSE: [http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/lcddata.html?ticker=PBR PBR] / [http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/lcddata.html?ticker=PBRA PBRA] ) (Latibex: [http://www.bolsamadrid.es/esp/contenido.asp?enlace=mercados/acciones/accind8_1.htm XPBR ] / [http://www.bolsamadrid.es/esp/contenido.asp?enlace=mercados/acciones/accind8_1.htm XPBRA] )|
foundation = 1953
location_city =flagicon|Brazil Rio de Janeiro
location_country = Brazil
key_people = José Sérgio Gabrielli de Azevedo (current President)
industry = Oil and Gasoline
products = Petroleum and derived products
BR service stations
Lubrax motor oil
Total assets = $133,563,614
market value = profit$295.6 billions [ [http://www.petrobras.com/ptcm/appmanager/ptcm/dptcm;jsessionid=xGk3L03LZm5pwN4Vwb38P72LzTyjHq95wzJDlgp2jMVvhLMXzvBJ!-596195969!954811031?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=petr_com_pag_inicial&idConteudoPrincipal=noticias_detalhe_00037 Petrobras.com ] ] USD (2008)
market c
profitUS$ 295.6 Billion (2008)
revenue = profitUS$ 96,3 billion (2008)billion [ [http://economia.uol.com.br/ultnot/2008/04/15/ult4294u1216.jhtm Economia] ] [ [http://web.infomoney.com.br/templates/news/view.asp?codigo=1255049&path=] ]
title =
work =
accessdate =
net_income = profitUS$ 12.1 billion [ [http://g1.globo.com/Noticias/Economia_Negocios/0,,MUL719973-9356,00-PETROBRAS+TEM+LUCRO+RECORDE+DE+R+BILHOES+NO+TRIMESTRE.html Petrobrás Profit breaks record in 2nd Quarter 2008 ] ] USD (2008)
num_employees = 68.931 [ [http://www2.petrobras.com.br/ri/port/ConhecaPetrobras/DadosCadastrais/DadosCadastrais.asp "Conheça a Petrobras", ] ] . (2007)
company_slogan = "O desafio é a nossa energia."
(English: "Challenge is our energy.")
homepage = [http://www.petrobras.com/ www.petrobras.com]

Petrobras (Bovespa: [http://www.bovespa.com.br/Cotacoes2000/CotacaoRapidaHome.Asp?PaginaReferente=PosicaoGeralPregao.Asp&txtCodigo=PETR3 PETR3] / [http://www.bovespa.com.br/Cotacoes2000/CotacaoRapidaHome.Asp?PaginaReferente=PosicaoGeralPregao.Asp&txtCodigo=PETR4 PETR4] ) (NYSE: [http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/lcddata.html?ticker=PBR PBR] / [http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/lcddata.html?ticker=PBRA PBRA] )(Latibex: [http://www.bolsamadrid.es/esp/contenido.asp?enlace=mercados/acciones/accind8_1.htm XPBR ] / [http://www.bolsamadrid.es/esp/contenido.asp?enlace=mercados/acciones/accind8_1.htm XPBRA] ), short for Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., is a semi-public [ [http://www2.petrobras.com.br/ri/ing/InformacoesAcionistas/ComposicaoCapitalSocial.asp Petrobras - Investor Relations ] ] Brazilian energy company headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. The company was founded in 1953 mainly due to the efforts of the Brazilian President Getúlio Vargas. While the company ceased to be Brazil's oil monopoly in 1997, it remains a significant oil producer, with output of more than 2 million barrels 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.

Overview

Petrobras controls significant oil and energy assets, as well as related business activities, outside Brazil in 18 nations in Africa, North America, South America, Europe and Asia. These holdings as well as its activities in Brazil give it total assets of $133.5 billion. The Brazilian government owns 55.7% of Petrobras' common shares (with voting rights), [ [http://www2.petrobras.com.br/portal/ingles/frame_ri.asp?pagina=/ri/ing/InformacoesAcionistas/ComposicaoCapitalSocial.asp Source: 09-July-2006 - Petrobras Investor Relation Site] ] however, privately held portions are traded on Bovespa, where it is part of the Ibovespa index.

Petrobras also has oil shale processing activities started in 1953 by developing Petrosix technology for extracting oil from oil shale. The pilot plant started in 1982 and the commercial production started in 1992. At present, the company operates 2 retorts, the largest of which processes 260 tonnes/hour of oil shale.

Petrobras operated the world's largest oil platform - the Petrobras 36 Oil Platform - until an explosion on 15 March 2001 led to its sinking on 20 March 2001.

Petrobras is also recognized for being the largest sponsor of arts, culture, and the environment in Brazil through several projects. Among the environmental initiatives, Petrobras is the main supporter of whale conservation and research through the Brazilian Right Whale Project [ [http://www.baleiafranca.org.br Brazilian Right Whale Project] ] and the Instituto Baleia Jubarte (Brazilian Humpback Whale Institute). [ [http://www.baleiajubarte.com.br Instituto Baleia Jubarte] ] Petrobras is a long-term sponsor of the Williams Formula-1 team. The company employs the H-Bio process to produce biodiesel. [ [http://www2.petrobras.com.br/tecnologia/ing/hbio.asp Petrobras.com] ]

As of 19 May 2008, Petrobras is the 3rd largest company of the Americas, after Exxon Mobil and General Electric making it larger than Microsoft, AT&T, and Wal-Mart, and the 6th largest in world. [ [http://portalexame.abril.com.br/negocios/m0159879.html Petrobras ultrapassa valor de mercado da Microsoft e soma US$ 287 bi - Portal EXAME ] ]

History

Petrobras was created in 1953 during the government of Brazilian president Getúlio Vargas, with great popular support under the motto "The Petroleum is Ours!". The company's creation provoked the wrath of the Brazil's elite, which reacted fervently against the institution and Vargas himself, who committed suicide in 1954. Many attempts were made to privatize the company, especially during Brazil's dictatorship period (1969-1974).

Chronology

*1953: the company is created by president Getúlio Vargas;
*1954-1961: period of great instability in the company's politics, caused by the great government opposition against it;
*1961: a report released by the government revealed pessimist news about oil perspective in the country's terrains;
*1973: after a short growth, the company is heavily affected by the first oil crisis, which stopped the period known as "Brazilian Miracle", a period of great growth in the country's economy. The company, weakened, almost bankrupted;
*1974: Petrobras discovered a huge oil field in Bacia de Campos, which the oil reserves raised 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 the its influences in the country;
*1979: it was the second oil crisis. Petrobras was affected, but not with the same strong effects as in the crisis of 1973;
*1997: the government sanctions the "Law N. 9.478", "breaking" the company's commercial monopoly in Brazil and allowing its competitors to act in the country's oil fields. In this same year, Petrobras reached the mark of one-million barrels per day production. The company begins its operations out of Brazilian domains, starting agreements with the Latin-American governments;
*2000: the company reaches the world record of oil exploration in deep waters (1,877 meters below sea-level);
*2001: disaster with the P-36 Platform, that was the world's biggest platform for oil exploration. The platform, by technical failures, sank on 20 May with an estimated weight of 1500 tons of oil;
*2003: acquires the Argentina's largest oil company Perez Companc Energía (PECOM Energía S.A.) and its operational bases in Bolivia, Peru and Paraguay;
*2006: Petrobras reaches the Brazilian auto-sufficiency in oil needs;
*2007: it was the company's best performance in its entire history, with more than US$13 billion of profit. The company announced the discovery of the giant oil field "Jupiter", in Santos. Petrobras stock market's value increases about 106% (from February to December);
*2008: discovery of what can be the world's third largest oil field. More details of the discovery, however, are still unverified.

Bolivian Controversy

On May 2006, Bolivia's president Evo Morales announced the nationalization of all gas and oil fields in the country. In a political discourse, trying to justify this act, he said: ("translated from Portuguese")

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 [ [http://noticias.uol.com.br/economia/ultnot/efe/2006/05/02/ult1767u66304.jhtm Saiba o tamanho da Petrobras na economia da Bolívia, e a importância da Bolívia para a Petrobras - 02/05/2006 - EFE - Economia ] ] :
*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 dipomatic relationship between Petrobras and the Bolivian government was affected. After a long period of negotiation, on October 28, 2006, Petrobras signed a deal, which stated that the company would stay with 18% of the gas and oil exploration's profit. The Bolivian government would stay with 82% of this profit. [ [http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/dinheiro/ult91u112012.shtml Folha Online - Dinheiro - Acordo com Bolívia garante rentabilidade para Petrobras, diz Silas - 29/10/2006 ] ]

Business [http://www2.petrobras.com.br/ri/spic/bco_arq/2778_form_20f_2005_port_16ago_alt8dez06.pdf]

Petrobras' most important business keys are its oil reserves in Brazil (the company's main oil field nowadays is the Campos Basin, which represents over 80% of the Brazilian oil production). The so called "green energy" is gaining considerable importance in the company's business, which was very well-succeeded with the biodiesel fuel. Petrobras recently opened its business to the ethanol fuel, facing great competition against the North-American ethanol. However, based on infrastructure investments, the biofuels will represent only 1% of the company's profit between 2008 and 2012. [ [http://www2.petrobras.com.br/ri/pdf/Petrobras_Biofuels_May2007.pdf Microsoft PowerPoint - Petrobras and Biofuels - May 2007.ppt ] ]

Petrobras makes money, in general, with the following markets:
*Domestic Sales: it represents the majority of the company's profit and includes the extraction and distribution of oil, natural gas, electricity and petrochemical products;
*Export Sales: the company's main exports are not related to oil extraction itself, but with mechanic technologies. However, it is planned to the company exports 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 the most important energy companies in South America and exploring huge deep-water fields of West Africa and the Gulf of Mexico. Petrobras is known for its leadership in deep-water exploration: the Tupi field itself, that is said to be the world's third largest oil field (information that is still unverified), is a deep-water discovery, located in the pre-salt layer.

In short, the company begun to increase its profit from 2002, with the government's heavy investments on it. In the first quarter of 2008, Petrobras reached US$295.6 billion of market value, surpassing Microsoft (US$274 billion) and becoming America's third largest company, ahead of giant oil companies such as BP and Chevron-Texaco, and only behind of ExxonMobil and General Electric. Petrobras' market value is also bigger than Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (US$289.3 billion), making it the sixth biggest company in market value in the world.

Competition

Comparison with world-wide companies

Petrobras in Popular Culture

* Many Brazilian films and TV shows sponsored by Petrobras contain shots of the enterprise's activities.
* In the Speed Racer live-action movie, one of the cars featured is the "Green Energy", a biodiesel fueled racing car sponsored by Petrobras.

See also

* History of Brazil (1945-1964)
* Ethanol fuel in Brazil
* Petrobras 36 Oil Platform
* Petrosix
* Transpetro
* Tupi oil field

References

External links

* [http://www.petrobras.com Global official web site] en icon
* [http://www.petrobras.com.br Brazilian official web site] pt icon
* [http://www.agenciapetrobrasdenoticias.com.br/default_en.asp Petrobras' News Agency] en icon
* [http://www2.petrobras.com.br/AtuacaoInternacional/PetrobrasMagazine/index_eng.html Petrobras Magazine] en icon