Oil, gas, strategy, governance and the global role of Brazil’s largest energy company.
← Back to topicOn November 8, 2007, Petrobras announced the Tupi discovery in Brazil’s pre-salt province, estimating 5 billion to 8 billion barrels of oil equivalent in recoverable light oil and natural gas. The estimate was preliminary, but the discovery became a landmark in the country’s offshore energy history.
Brazil’s Federal Police launched the first overt phase of Operation Lava Jato on March 17, 2014. Initially focused on suspected money laundering and illegal foreign-exchange activity, the inquiry later expanded into allegations involving Petrobras, major contractors and political figures. Its legacy remains significant, but legal outcomes varied case by case.
Operation Car Wash entered its first overt phase on March 17, 2014. Petrobras later recognized R$6.194 billion in improperly capitalized overpayments, while U.S. authorities found that the company and investors had been harmed by the scheme and that its disclosures misled markets.
Operation Lava Jato, known internationally as Car Wash, became one of Brazil’s most consequential anti-corruption investigations. Its record includes major corporate settlements and compliance commitments, but also later Supreme Court rulings that annulled specific proceedings and excluded a category of Odebrecht-derived evidence.