Transocean Ltd., the world’s largest offshore rig contractor, is being 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.”
As a result of the probe into the alleged pay-to-play scheme, known as Carwash, Petrobras has temporarily blocked more than 20 suppliers from future work with the oil company, which claims it is a victim of the bribery and is cooperating with authorities. The scandal has spurred increased calls for President Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment and the resulting political turmoil contributed to a sovereign downgrade to junk this month. Rousseff has said she knew nothing about wrongdoing at the time she was chairwoman of Petrobras and that her government will not stop short of uncovering the full truth.
Brazil Energy Insight 
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