Petrobras
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. | |
 |
|
| Type | Public (NYSE: PBR / PBRA) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1953 |
| Headquarters | Rio de Janeiro, 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 |
| Revenue |  $56.326 billion USD (2005) |
| Employees | 50.000 |
| Slogan | "O desafio é a nossa energia." (English: "Challenge is our energy.") |
| Website | www.petrobras.com.br |
Petrobras, short for Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., is a government-owned Brazilian oil 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 renowned for its leadership in development of advanced technology from deepwater and ultra-deep water oil production. 55.7% of Petrobras' Commun Shares (with vote right) is owned by the Brazilian government [1], however privately held portions are traded on Bovespa, where it is part of the Ibovespa index.
Petrobras operated the Petrobras 36 Oil Platform, the world's largest oil platform, up until an explosion led to its sinking on March 15, 2001.
Petrobras has expanded the reach of its operations beyond Brazilian borders. Today Petrobras controls oil and power industries assets, as well as related business activities, in 18 nations in Africa, North America, South America, Europe and Asia.
Petrobras produces also shale oil from the oil shale. Oil shale processing activities started in 1953 by developing Petrosix technology for of extracting oil from oil shale. The pilot plant started in 1982 and the commercial production started in 1992. At present, the company operates 2 retort, the largest of which processes 260 t/h of oil shale.
On 19 December 2005, Petrobras announced a contract with the Japanese Nippon Alcohol Hanbai for the creation of a joint-venture based in Japan to import ethanol from Brazil. The company, Brazil-Japan Ethanol, will have as its main object the creation of ethanol market in Japan.
The Financial Times newspaper listed Petrobras as one of the world's 500 largest companies in 2005.
On April 21st of 2006, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced Brazil's self-sufficiency in petroleum on board the Petrobras P-50 Oil Rig, a Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel.
Petrobras is also widely 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 Projectand the [2] Brazilian Humpback Whale Institute].
[edit] See also
[edit] Footnotes and references
[edit] External links
- The company's home page in Portuguese
- The company's home page in English
- Major oil discovery in Brazil
- Petroleo Brasilei stock quote
Acesita • AES Eletropaulo • ALL • AmBev • Aracruz • Arcelor-Mittal • Banco do Brasil • Bradesco • Brasil Telecom • Braskem • CCR • Celesc • Cemig • CESP • Copel
Cosan • CSN • Cyrela Brazil Realty • Eletrobrás • Embraer • Gerdau • Gol • Ipiranga • Itaú • Klabin • Light • Natura • Net • Oi • Pão de Açúcar • Petrobras
Sabesp • Sadia • Souza Cruz • Submarino • TAM • Telemig Celular • Telesp • TIM • Transmissão Paulista • Unibanco • Votorantim Celulose e Papel
Vale do Rio Doce • Vivo
