Brazil’s Petrobras said it has settled lawsuits brought by investors who accused the state-owned energy company of misleading them about the company’s corruption scandal and set aside $353m to cover the legal settlements.

Investment management firm Pimco and three other investors – Al Shams Investments, Dodge & Cox and Janus Capital Group – had filed separate lawsuits in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, saying Petrobras executives kept the share prices artificially high by covering up the extent of the Lava Jato corruption probe and making false statements.
The $353m provision in its third-quarter financial statements as a result of the settlements and ongoing negotiations with 23 individual plaintiffs and a class action lawsuit in the same court, Petrobras said. “At this time, it is not possible for the company to make a reliable estimate with respect to the potential outcome of the class action,” the company said in a statement.

Petrobras said the terms of the settlements are confidential and intended to eliminate “the uncertainties, burdens and expense of ongoing litigation.”

Pimco, a division of German insurer Allianz, is one of Petrobras’ largest bondholders, while Dodge & Cox is one of the largest shareholders, behind the federal government, the company said.
On Monday, Petrobras announced it has partnered with French energy company to work on upstream and downstream projects in Brazil and abroad.
The two companies will first focus on developing exploration projects and activities in the natural gas and power sectors. Petrobras will propose projects in Brazil, while Total will suggest investments outside Brazil. After that, the partnership will include downstream projects in Brazil, Petrobras said in a statement.
Petrobras and Total participate in 15 exploration and production consortiums, including nine in Brazil and six abroad. The companies are partners in the Libra pre-salt block in Brazil, the Chinook field in the Gulf of Mexico and the deepwater Akpo field in Nigeria. They are also together in the San Alberto, San Antonio and Itau gas fields in Bolivia and the Bolivia-Brazil natural gas pipeline, according to Petrobras.
Petrobras and Norway’s Statoil announced in August a two-year partnership to increase production at the Campos and Santos basins and prepare joint bids for future tenders. Statoil previously agreed to buy a 66% stake in the offshore license for BM-S-8 block for $2.5bn. Looking to offload $15.1bn in assets before the end of the year, Petrobras is also negotiating the sale of stakes in the Bauna Tartaruga Verde to Australian oil and gas firm Karoon.