Petrobras: Appeals court suspends injunction
Brazilian court suspends injunction
A Brazilian federal appeals court suspended an injunction barring state-run Petrobras from making dividend payments, a court official said today.
No details were immediately available, but the court decision suspended the injunction handed down Wednesday, the official said.
Earlier today, Petrobras' press office said that the company was appealing the decision, a Dow Jones Newswire report said.
The injunction, suspending dividend payments scheduled to be made today totaling 3.33 billion reals (US$1.52 billion) was being appealed by Petrobras.
The court decision was part of a long-running dispute involving investments made by Paulipetro, a Sao Paulo state government company created in 1980s to explore for oil and gas.
Paulipetro failed to find oil and gas reserves, and the company no longer exists.
A Sao Paulo citizens' group sued Paulipetro in the 1980s, saying it had no legal right to explore for oil and gas reserves because such activities, at the time, were a federal monopoly. Furthermore, the suit claims, the federal monopoly was exercised at that time solely by Petrobras.
With the extinction of Paulipetro in the mid-1980s, the citizens group shifted its suit to Petrobras, saying the company took no steps to protect its monopoly by halting Paulipetro's activities.
The suit claims, Petrobras even signed exploration and development contracts with Paulipetro. The suit seeks the return of all money spent by Paulipetro to federal coffers.
"Petrobras asked the court to overturn the injunction," the company's press office told Dow Jones Newswires. "A decision has not yet been made."