Brazil: To Screw Or Not To Screw the Int'l Oil Companies...That Is the Question

Here is a fun story that tells you how geo-political and economic forces are shaping the world.  TransOcean, of BP Macondo fame, is drilling a ton of oil down in the waters off Brazil for Petrobras (Brazil's equivalent of the space program).  They wound up spilling a miniscule amount of oil but the authorities want to sting them for $20 billion.  Alas, NASA Petrobras can't afford for TransOcean to get  kicked out so they are scrambling to do some "fixing."

The ban stems from an oil spill last November in a field operated by Chevron at a well drilled with a Transocean rig.
Transocean said it is “vigorously pursuing” the overturn or suspension of the preliminary injunction, including through an appeal to the Superior Court of Justice.
Absent relief from the courts, the US-listed drilling giant will be required to comply with the preliminary injunction.
Barclays Capital says that in the event the injunction stands, Transocean would be in technical breach of contract – resulting in zero dayrate – and would have limited recourse options.
The ban is related to civil lawsuits seeking $20bn in damages from Transocean and Chevron for the Frade field spill in which 3,600 barrels of oil leaked into the sea off Rio de Janeiro.
Transocean has ten rigs under contract for work in Brazil which accounted for about 11% of its revenues in the first half of 2012.
Eight of the Transocean rigs in Brazil work for Petrobras, including seven contracted to the state-led oil company and another subcontracted from BP.
Petrobras chief executive Maria das Gracas Foster has publically backed Transocean in its battle to remain in waters off Brazil.
She recently made it clear that the oil company would explicitly aide Transocean in its fight to overturn the injunction over the Frade field incident.

Brazil is staking its future on deepsea oil, but they can't get to it themselves, they need international oil companies.  But drilling for oil is risky and there are greedy politicians and raging leftists who would love to stick it to an international oil company.   But they can't...rinse, wash, repeat.  I bet reais to doughnuts that TransOcean gets off - you wanna fine us $20 billion, well, we'll just take our 11 rigs that cost $400 million apiece and go home...

Reminds me of Caddy Shack.  "I ain't paying no fifty cents for no Coke.  Well, then you ain't gettin' no Coke."