The fine is equivalent to around $3.5 million per barrel spilled and it dwarfs the U.S. maximum fine of around $4,300 per barrel spilled. BP's (BP) total fine for dumping 4 million barrels into the Gulf of Mexico last year came to around $3.5 billion, around a third of what Chevron is now facing with its 3,000 barrel belch.
But the jaw-dropping fine will probably never be paid. Chevron's total oil assets in Brazil are estimated to be worth around $4.1 billion, according to an analysis conducted by Barclays. Chevron's Brazilian unit would probably declare bankruptcy before it shelled out one real to the Rio government. Egregious fines are becoming more common these days in the oil world. They are usually levied by corrupt states like Venezuela and Kazakhstan as a form of blackmail in order to extract more money from oil companies once they start production. They are also used as an excuse for a state takeover of oil assets.
Overzealous prosecutors
Brazil has had a somewhat fair record in dealing with its foreign partners up until this point. It has actually encouraged foreign participation from oil giants like Exxon Mobil (XOM), Shell, Chevron and BP in its offshore oil business as a way of quickly ramping up production as Petrobras (PBR) had neither the money nor the expertise in doing it alone. The country wants to double its oil production capacity by 2020 to around 7 million barrels a day. That would make Brazil the third-largest oil exporter in the world behind Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Brazil's federal system now has become a liability in that quest. The federal government wants to distribute more of the oil royalties evenly across all the states in Brazil, instead of the lion's share going to states on the coast where the drilling occurs. Rio has been a major critic of the plan as it stands to lose an estimated $7 billion over the next few years in oil royalties. Cities like Campos and Rio had already earmarked that money for grand projects, most notably, for the 2016 Olympic Games.
The prosecutors in Campos are sending a message to Brasilia that it should tread carefully if it tries to take its oil money away. If it is successful in driving Chevron out of the country, Brazil's dreams to be the preeminent oil exporter in the western hemisphere would sink to the bottom of the ocean. Foreign oil companies would refuse to dish out any more money to develop the country's resources if it knew that it could be kicked out at any moment by overzealous prosecutors in small towns.
Brazil needs the technology, equipment and expertise of foreign oil companies if it hopes to grow its oil industry. An estimated $600 billion will be needed over the years to get its newly discovered mega fields into production. Brazil also needs them to just maintain production. For example, Transocean alone operates 10 of the 60 offshore oil platforms currently in operation in Brazil.
