Channels, Fall 2018

Channels • 2018 • Volume 3 • Number 1 Page 115 through the creation of thousands of jobs from Petrobras’ purchases and the promotion of domestic industries, which provide short-term economic success and boost the popularity of the current governing political party (Romero, 2013). In areas of potential corruption, Ms. Foster, appointed to the chief position of Petrobras in 2012, has been questioned concerning contracts awarded to her husband’s firm (Romero, 2012). Furthermore, the political scandal leading to president Rousseff’s removal was deeply interlinked with Petrobras. Mr. Costa, a former executive, was investigated for accepting bribes to award contracts to certain contractors and using that money to support the Workers Party. Although the corruption allegations had much larger political impacts, the New York Times reports that: Analysts say that the oil giant and other state-owned companies remain vulnerable to kickback schemes for one overriding reason: Presidents in Brazil rule in coalitions at the mercy of Congress, which includes more than 20 parties of various ideological stripes. It’s Corruption 101: You get control of a state enterprise and then channel resources from it to the parties in your coalition (Romero, 2014, para. 24). Since Petrobras has been strongly supported by the government, it has grown very large, with some noting it is responsible for close to one-tenth of the country’s total economic output. Due to its size and influence, Petrobras’ financial recessions as a result of the corruption has had a negative impact on other Brazilian companies. The bond market has faced a severe collapse since Petrobras was valued as the benchmark for all other national companies. Regardless of the recession and Petrobras’ failings, few think that Petrobras will default on its bonds since it is simply too important and large for the government to let it fail (Horch, 2015). Though the New York Times articles concerning Petrobras and the environment were scarce, they revealed many of the underlying problems facing the NOC. In one article, Brazil Where Oil and Women Mix Powerfully , dealing political corruption, Romero (2012) adds the following sentence: “doing so [increasing oil output] will require guiding Petrobras, Latin America’s largest company, past equipment bottlenecks, the development of complex new drilling technologies and concerns over spills at offshore fields” (para. 19). Romero sees these environmental concerns as challenges that can be overcome by the largest energy company in Latin America. This article seems to be the one exception in dealing with political corruption where Petrobras is seen as actively confronting environmental challenges. Petrobras has active environmental and restoration projects in place, yet its international perception is marred by challenges as it seeks to develop. Thus far independent third-party data has been examined to compare the relation and influence of the state on the NOC of Gazprom and Petrobras concerning the environment. Overall, there is a predominant negative perception regarding environmental concern with Gazprom and Petrobras. Eleven of the seventeen New York Times articles 6 directly note the 6 As Gazprom Goes, So Goes Russia (2008); BP Faces Environment Inquiry in Russia (2008); Russia Cuts Gas, and Europe Shivers (2009); Warming Revives Dream of Se Route in Russian Arctic (2011); Greenpeace