Channels, Fall 2018

Channels • 2018 • Volume 3 • Number 1 Page 105 Brazil, the largest country in South America, and the fifth largest in the world, totals 8,358,140 square kilometers. It has 7,491 kilometers of coastline and borders ten nations. The majority of Brazil’s population lives along its Atlantic coast in the major cities of Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro. Latest results on Brazil’s population number it at 207,353,391. Brazil is divided into twenty-six states and one federal district. It is a federal presidential republic, where the president serves as both chief of state and as head of government, appointing the cabinet. The bicameral legislative branch is composed of the Federal Senate, which is elected by simple majority and the Chamber of Deputies, elected by proportional representation. Brazil is the eighth-largest global economy despite recent political corruption, which has affected associated businesses (CIA, 2018). During the imperial era of Brazil, oil was discovered in the northeastern section and, in 1927, the mineral resource was nationalized by laws limiting the exploration to Brazilians. The National Petroleum Council was created in 1938, leading to the creation of the state company, Petrobras, in 1953. The Campos Basin was discovered in 1974 and is the largest oil producing region in Brazil. During the 1970s, Petrobras was gradually privatized and allowed to engage with other foreign private companies in extracting and producing its natural resources. In 2007, the “pre-salt” layer in the Tupi reservoir off the Brazilian coast was discovered to contain approximately eight billion barrels of oil, strengthening Petrobras’ standing as the largest company in Brazil and eighth-largest in the world based on market value. As a state monopoly, Petrobras is subject to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels, and the National Council of Energy Policy, which manage the exploration and production of the energy resources (Pereira, 2016).