Norway's Oil Fund Removes Petrobras From Observation on Reduced Corruption Risk

   By Dominic Chopping 
 

Norges Bank Investment Management, the arm of Norway's central bank that manages the country's trillion-dollar oil fund, said Tuesday that it has removed Brazilian oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petroleo Brasileiro S/A (PETR4.BR) from its observation list following a recommendation from the fund's council on ethics.

Petrobras was placed under observation in 2016, with a view to the fund potentially withdrawing its investments in the company due to risk of severe corruption.

At the time, Petrobras was facing accusations of bribery and kickbacks.

"The Council on Ethics believes that the risk of corruption is now reduced," it said in a statement.

"This assessment is based, among other things, on the legal settlement with the U.S. authorities, which confirms that Petrobras has implemented comprehensive improvement measures since the investigation began in 2014."

At the end of 2018, the oil fund had around $659.5 million invested in Petrobras, representing a 0.83% stake in the company.

Write to Dominic Chopping at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 03, 2019 05:42 ET (10:42 GMT)

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