Petrobras, Brazil Dispute Transfer of Rights Worth $30 bln
Brazil's government and state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro are locked in a dispute over the value of offshore oil blocks involving an estimated $30 billion, newspaper Valor Econômico reported on Friday.
The dispute, which has previously been reported, centers on a 2010 contract in which Petrobras paid the government for the transfer of exploratory rights over some oil areas off the coast. Oil prices were much higher at the time the original contract was signed, at around $90 per barrel.
According to the report, Petrobras estimates it is owed $30 billion while the Planning and Finance Ministries conclude the government is owed that same amount.
Petrobras and the ministries did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
However, at an event on Thursday, Brazil's mining minister Fernando Coelho Filho said Petrobras would be a creditor at the end of negotiations with the government over the transfer of rights.
Reporting by Alexandra Alper
