Brazil has told Dutch SBM Offshore NV, the world’s top oil production ship leaser, to agree soon to a $250 million bribery settlement if it wants to regain its biggest client in the world’s largest oilship market, a government source told Reuters.
The ultimatum gives SBM several days to sign a leniency deal that includes financial reparation and other clauses such as cooperation with a corruption investigation. The settlement, which has been under negotiation for months, would lift a ban on the Amsterdam-based firm from bidding for new business with Petrobras, Brazil’s state-run oil company.
A spokeswoman for SBM declined to comment on the ongoing discussions with Brazilian authorities.
Petrobras, whose officials were accused by Brazilian prosecutors of accepting bribes from SBM representatives in order to win contracts, will receive the proceeds of the deal, gaining badly needed cash to finance expansion and pay debt, the largest in the oil industry.
Brazil Energy Insight 
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