Petrobras teams up with CNPC to finish Comperj unit, paper says
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) — Brazil's state-controlled oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA has teamed up with China National Petroleum Corp to complete construction of a petrochemical compound in Rio de Janeiro that was ensnared in a massive corruption scandal, O Globo newspaper reported on Tuesday.
According to Globo, which cited a person with knowledge of the situation, finishing the Comperj project, which is located in the town of Itaborai in the state of Rio de Janeiro, could require additional investments between $3.5 B and $4 B.
Earlier on Tuesday, Petrobras announced talks for a strategic partnership with the Chinese company commonly known as CNPC to jointly evaluate business opportunities.
Comperj was the subject of myriad police probes in "Operation Car Wash," Brazil's worst corruption scandal which unearthed a bribe-for-contracts scheme between members of the coalition backing Brazil's former ruling Workers Party and engineering conglomerates.
Prosecutors allege that about $13 B was spent in developing Comperj since the end of the last decade.
The media offices of Petrobras and CNPC did not have an immediate comment.
Reporting by Marta Nogueira and Alexandra Alper; Editing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Matthew Lewis
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