Brazilian Superior Court Suspends Injunction Against Transocean

With Petrobras, and thus Brazil, standing to lose $3 billion or more in lost revenues due to missed oil and gas production targets,  the head of Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice, Minister Felix Fischer, granted the suspension of the preliminary injunction against offshore drilling contractor Transocean late on Friday.

This injunction, which was handed down by the Federal Court in Rio de Janeiro on 27 September, required that Transocean stop operating in Brazil within 30 days due to a legal case surrounding the company’s involvement in a bizarre oil spill from the seabed of the Chevron-operated Campo de Frade field last November.

As a result of Justice Fischer’s decision, Transocean has been granted permission continue to operate its rigs in all fields offshore Brazil, with the exception of the Campo de Frade field.

Transocean currently has 10 rigs under contract in Brazil; nine of which are currently assigned to work for customers in other fields.  As a result of the preliminary injunction order, Transocean reports they have experienced no interruption of contract revenue from its operations in Brazil which, for the six months ended June 30, 2012, comprised approximately 11 percent of its consolidated operating revenues.

Transocean continues to vigorously pursue all legal avenues to ensure complete resolution of litigation against it in Brazil, including restrictions related to its operations in the Campo de Frade field.

As of 7AM on Monday, Transocean (NYSE:RIG) shares are up over 4 percent in pre-market change.

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