President Dilma Rouseff in crisis as Brazil’s largest party quits coalition
Brazil’s largest party abandoned President Dilma Rousseff’s governing coalition, making it tougher for her to survive mounting pressure in Congress for her impeachment.
corruption
Nigeria seeks to recover $618 million from contractors in probe
A committee set up by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate the awarding of security contracts from 2011 to 2015 has found as much as 123 billion naira ($618 million) in fraudulent payments could be recovered, the government said.
Norway’s sovereign fund places Petrobras under observation
Norway said its sovereign wealth fund has placed its investment in Brazil’s Petrobras under observation.
EV Insights: Leadership change marks new phase for Nigerian energy industry
Nigerian's went to the ballot box this year to elect a new leader of the West African country.
Nigeria’s $5.5-billion arms scandal tests Buhari’s war on graft
Revelations that top officials are suspected of pilfering the equivalent of almost the entire annual defense budget would cause shock waves in most countries. Not in Nigeria, where the public sees political power and graft as bedfellows. The novelty this time is that President Muhammadu Buhari immediately ordered the arrest of a former national security adviser, after a government commission found that he and other officials allegedly misappropriated as much as $5.5 billion that was supposed to buy equipment to fight Islamist militant group Boko Haram. “I don’t think Nigerians would be very surprised about somebody stealing $5 billion at all,” Boye Gbadebo, a Nigerian national who works as an Africa analyst at consultancy Ake Partners, said by phone from Johannesburg.
Nigeria must stop using oil as a ‘cash cow’ to buffer economy
Nigeria must stop using its rich oil resources as a 'cash cow' if it is to reform the nation's politics and economy, according to a leading expert.
Transocean mentioned in Petrobras carwash corruption probe
Transocean Ltd., the world’s largest offshore rig contractor, has been linked for the first time to the corruption probe of Petroleo Brasileiro SA, the state-owned energy giant at the center of Brazil’s biggest corporate scandal. A former executive at Brazil’s state-run oil company has testified to receiving what he says were payments made by someone claiming to be a Transocean agent in exchange for a rig- operation contract from Petrobras. “Transocean has a long-standing commitment to and upholds the highest standards for corporate ethics and compliance,” the company said in an e-mailed response. “Our employees -- and everyone conducting business on our behalf -- are required to adhere to our high standards for integrity, honesty, financial discipline and legal and regulatory compliance.”
Soma Oil & Gas calls for meeting with UN over corruption allegations
Soma Oil & Gas has called for a meeting with the United Nations (UN) to discuss allegations regarding its dealings in Somalia. The move comes after the company became the subject of a criminal investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in relation to alleged corruption. Soma, which is chaired by former Conservative Party leader Michael Howard, wants to arrange talks with UN Security Council Committee chairman Rafael Dario Ramirez Carreno.
Nigeria should overhaul state oil sales to stop corruption, report says
Nigeria's new president should overhaul how Africa's biggest oil producer sells its state oil company's share of crude oil output to save billions of dollars in wasted and lost revenues, a report by an international governance watchdog said on Tuesday. About half of Nigeria's 2 million barrel per day (bpd) crude output goes to NNPC, the state-owned oil company. NNPC sells half that oil to its subsidiary Pipelines and Product Marketing Co for the country's refineries. The poorly maintained plants are however unable to process the bulk of the oil and over the years this allocation has devolved into a "nexus of waste and revenue loss," according to the report by Natural Resource Governance Institutes (NRGI), a non-profit.
Petrobras workers on strike
Brazilian oil workers have begun a 24 hour strike in an effort to halt moves to shrink state-run oil company Petrobas. Union workers, led by FUP – the country’s largest federation of oil workers for refineries and oil platforms – called for employees to walk off their jobs on Thursday at midnight. Petrobas has announced plans to sell $15.1billion of assets by the end of 2016 in a bid to pay down debt.
Former senior Chinese energy executive stands trial
A former senior Chinese energy executive has gone on trial this week, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday, part of the government's sweeping crackdown against deep-rooted corruption. Wang Yongchun was a deputy general manager at China's biggest oil company, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), until he became caught up in a graft probe last year. Wang's trial on charges of "holding a huge amount of property with unidentified sources" and "abuse of power by a staff member of a state-owned company" opened on Monday in Xiangyang, central Hubei province, Xinhua said.
Trial for China’s ex-security chief
China’s once-feared security boss Zhou Yongkang has been formally charged with corruption and leaking of state secrets. The move sets the stage for him to become the highest-level politician to stand trial in China in more than three decades. The long-expected indictment, announced by the country’s procuratorate, followed a lengthy investigation that also had scrutinised Zhou’s former allies in government and the oil industry. Zhou, a former member of the all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee, had been under investigation since late 2013.
Engineering firm files for bankruptcy after Petrobas scandal
Engineering company Galvao Engenharia has filed for bankruptcy following the Petrobas scandal. The firm had its payments cut off by the state-run oil company following an alleged corruption scheme. However Grupo Galvao, the firm's parent company, said it had no part in the alleged corruption involving Petrobas.