Petrobras tries to move on from its troubled past

On Tuesday, Petrobras announced its intentions to sell its oil refinery plant in Pasadena, Texas. The plant is a prime example of how corruption and poor administration have resulted in the near ruin of Brazil’s giant state-owned oil and gas company.

In 2006, Petrobras closed a USD 360 million deal to purchase 50 percent of the Pasadena refinery. The plan was simple and apparently logical: the Brazilian company would buy an obsolete (and thus cheap) refinery, revamp it, and adapt it to Brazil’s oil production. At a time when Brazil’s fuel consumption was down – and the U.S.’s was off the charts – it made sense on paper.

Yet it turned out to be what was arguably Petrobras’ worst deal. Ever.

While the motivations for the deal might appear fine on the surface, much of it becomes shady upon closer inspection. First: its...