History of South America

Petrobras History

Petrobras is the largest oil company in Brazil and one of the largest in the world . Its creation in 1953, during the government of Getúlio Vargas, marked the 50's. On October 3, 2013, the company celebrated its 60th anniversary.

The name of the well-known Petrobras is, in fact, Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. . Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro and currently present in several countries, it is a publicly traded company, whose Union - the Federal Government of Brazil plays the role of its largest shareholder.

Petrobras works, essentially, in the exploration, production and commercialization of oil, as well as in the distribution of derivatives, among others.

The Beginning

The National Petroleum Council (CNP) began, in 1938, the work of structuring oil exploration in Brazil.

In Brazil, a group of nationalists defended that the exploration of oil was a monopoly of the State. Meanwhile, another group defended that private, national or foreigners could exploit it.

In this context, in 1948, the Petroleum Statute , whose objective was to regularize the issue of oil exploration considering the competition in the field.

The commission that drafted this bill did not believe in the possibility of the State being able to maintain oil exploration alone.

Nationalists take action by launching a popular movement that had the phrase “Oil is ours” as a slogan. As a result, years later, by Law n.º 2004 , Petrobras was created, whose inspection was carried out by the National Petroleum Council.

In 1997, however, by Law No. 9478, of August 6th, Petrobras ceases to hold the monopoly of the oil sector in Brazil, maintaining, however, its place as the largest oil company in the country.

Trajectory

  • In 1961, the first Petrobras refinery was founded, the Duque de Caxias Refinery (Reduc) , in Rio de Janeiro. It is one of the largest and most important refineries in Brazil.
  • In 1963 the Research and Development Center (Cenpes) was created , in Rio de Janeiro. It is one of the most important applied research centers in the world.
  • In 1968 the first self-lifting platform was built - the P-I . She was responsible for the first oil discovery in the Brazilian sea, more precisely in Sergipe.
  • In 1971, Petrobras Distribuidora was founded , in Rio de Janeiro. It is the largest company in Brazil in the area of ​​distribution of oil and its derivatives. It is also present in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and Uruguay.
  • In 1974 the Campos Basin was discovered , in Rio de Janeiro. It has about 100 thousand square kilometers. Several platforms operate in this region, the main ones belonging to the city of Macaé , which is the main oil producer in Brazil, so it receives, nationally and internationally, the title of National Oil Capital .
  • In 2007 the Pre-Salt is discovered , in the Santos Basin, on the coast of the state of São Paulo.

The Pre-Salt

The Pre-Salt is an oil reserve located under a crust of salt, in deep waters. Currently, its production already corresponds to 20% of oil production, whose tendency is to grow substantially. Such growth in a short period of time is a record in Petrobras' performance .

Brand

Taking into account the nationalist character , the Petrobras name and logo underwent some changes. Its first logo resembles, in format and colors, the Brazilian flag.

In 2000, considering the company's internationalization, a change to the name was launched to Petrobrax . But the dissatisfaction of the people who defended that the end of his name had to keep the bras de Brasil, made it keep it.

Awards

Over the years, Petrobras has been awarded. We mention some awards and certifications received by the company:

  • Six times among the Ten Most Valuable Brazilian Brands - Interbrand Ranking .
  • 1st place in the petrochemical sector in The Most Admired Companies in Brazil, in 2013, as well as 8th place in The 10 Most Admired Leaders - Carta Capital Magazine.
  • Best Company in the Oil and Gas Sector, in 2013 - Época Negócios 360.º.
  • Eleven times consecutively awarded in the fuel category of the Folha Top of Mind .
  • 2014 Transparency Trophy - Association of Finance, Administration and Accounting Executives (Anefac), in partnership with the Institute of Accounting, Actuarial and Financial Research Foundation (Fipecafi) and Serasa Experian.
  • 2nd place Empresas dos Sonhos dos Jovens - Cia de Talentos, in partnership with the company Nextview People .
  • 5th place in Most Valuable Brand in Brazil 2014 - Ranking promoted by the consultancy BrandAnalytics and by the English institute Millward Brown .
  • Leader among the Largest Industries - Annual Ranking Melhores &Maiores 2014, by Exame magazine.
  • For the seventh time Best Oil and Gas Company - Valor 1000 - 14th edition of the Valor 1000 Yearbook, in 2014.
  • Ninth Largest Energy Company in the World - IHS Energy Consulting 50, in 2014.

Operation Car Wash

Since 2014, Petrobras has been involved in a money laundering and embezzlement scandal, the largest corruption scheme in Brazilian history .

The case, which is being investigated by the Federal Police, involves politicians and large construction companies. It has already led to the arrest of several people, including executives and former Petrobras executives, as well as the seizure of a large amount of money, goods and weapons.

The company's headquarters was searched and its bank secrecy was broken in some operations.

Read:

  • Multinational Companies
  • Getúlio Vargas

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