Investopedia: Is Second Place Good Enough For Petrobras Investors?

The words "it's always something" seem especially appropriate for Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) and its investors. While other major oil companies like Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) or BP (NYSE:BP) would love to have the huge offshore reservoirs that Petrobras has discovered in recent years, the constant interference of the Brazilian government makes it an open question as to how much benefit shareholders will ultimately reap from these assets.
Not only has the Brazilian government shown a willingness to rewrite the rules as necessary (and at the expense of shareholders), but price controls in gasoline and diesel make the already-difficult job of running a refining and marketing business even harder. If that wasn't enough, local content laws raise the specter of insufficient access to equipment, while Petrobras battles through the same difficulties in disappointing production growth and faster-declining fields as most other energy majors.

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