State-owned Petrobras has decided to terminate its contracts for two of Diamond Offshore Drilling’s units before the expiration date and extend a contract on another rig, the offshore drilling contractor announced Monday in its third quarter filings.

Petrobras hits new pre-salt pay

RIO DE JANEIRO, June 16, 2016 – Brazil’s Petrobras has hit the “largest net pay to date” in the Libra field, the company announced on Thursday, giving the state-controlled operator a much-needed pre-salt boost.

The news was released upon the conclusion of drilling and appraisal work on a seventh well in northeastern part of the field, located in the offshore Santos Basin. “The new well has discovered Libra’s largest net pay to date, with 410 meters of thickness. This column overcomes the latest discovery (301 metres), announced in March of this year,” a Petrobras statement read. Drilling work on an eighth Libra well in currently underway. Petrobras’ partners in the operating consortium are Shell, Total, China National Petroleum Corporation and China National Offshore Oil Corporation.

Also on Thursday, interim President Michel Temer was forced to put out a statement denying allegations brought against him by Sergio Machado, former president of Petrobras’ transport division, Transpetro. During his plea bargain, he said Temer had solicited illegal campaign contributions, statements the Temer camp quickly labelled to be “untrue.” In a statement, the president’s office said Temer had “always respected the legal limits to fund electoral campaigns.”

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