The deepening crisis at Sete Brasil

The Brazilian rig builder once had a bright future. Now the Carwash scandal and mounting debts have left it on the brink of bankruptcy

Sete Brasil's fortunes were tied to Petrobras's from the start. While the government saw the state firm as a national champion for developing the pre-salt oilfields, Sete Brasil was to be the domestic coordinator for construction, delivery and operation of the deep-water rigs Petrobras and others would need. Strict local-content rules would shield the new firm from international competition. As Petrobras's plans grew more ambitious, Sete Brasil's portfolio swelled. The company secured deals to build an armada of 29 deep-water rigs at five shipyards along Brazil's coast through the end of the decade, which it said would create 150,000 jobs. That would have made it the world's largest ultra-de