Brazil's Petrobras Cancels Contracts Worth $546 Mln on Delays
Sao Paulo, May 18 (Bloomberg) -- Petroleo Brasileiro SA,
Brazil's biggest company, canceled four oil-drilling contracts
worth $546 million because of delays by partners, O Estado de
S.Paulo said. Two of the contracts -- agreed with Maritima
Engenharia e Petroleo Ltda -- would have involved the
construction of platforms worth nearly $392 million, while the
other two were signed with Falcon Drilling Inc. of the U.S. The
Maritima projects were due to have started operations nearly
eight months ago, but the yard in Canada where they were being
constructed closed, the paper said.
Petrobras, which is 51 percent owned by the Brazilian
government, lost more than $900 million in the first quarter,
wiping out all of last year's profit, as Brazil's currency
devaluation sent the value of its dollar debt soaring.
(OESP 05/18/99 p A/7)
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