🛢️ Royalty dispute

Brazil’s Supreme Court is set to begin a trial that could fundamentally alter how the country distributes its oil and gas royalties — a high-stakes dispute that has pitted states and municipalities against each other for more than a decade and cast billions of reais into legal limbo.

Every company that drills for oil and natural gas in Brazil — including state-controlled giant Petrobras — is required to pay hefty royalty fees to federal, state and local governments. For decades, the largest share of that revenue has flowed to the states and cities geographically closest to the operations, most of which are conducted offshore.

In 2012, Congress moved to change that arrangement, approving legislation that would…

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