Vantage Protects Interests in Pursuit of $622 Million Petrobras Award
An Amsterdam judge has allowed Vantage Drilling International to restrict some assets of Brazil’s state-run oil company, Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., a win for the Houston-based offshore energy contractor in its attempt to collect a $622 million arbitration award, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The dispute concerns a drilling contract Petrobras terminated in 2015, a turn that contributed to Vantage filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December of that year. The contract was cut off amid a corruption probe in Brazil. Both companies have denied involvement in corruption. The prospect of collecting damages from Petrobras for the terminated contract was a component of Vantage’s prepackaged chapter 11 bankruptcy plan. The possibility of a win in the contract fight with Petrobras was built into the calculations for everything from management rewards to the collateral package for exit financing. The decision, issued Wednesday in Amsterdam but made public yesterday, authorizes the company to attach bank accounts and shares Petrobras holds in subsidiaries incorporated in the Netherlands, court papers say.
