News Analysis: Petrobras may deserve another chance to help Brazil recover

There are two different ways of looking at Petrobras -- a Brazil-based integrated energy giant: firstly, to view it as the most blatant source of corruption in Brazil, and secondly, to seek to shine a slightly more optimistic look at it.

Petrobras is considered key to a massive corruption scandal in Brazi, in which its executives and contractors lied at the center of a vast web of nepotism and embezzlement, and enriched themselves as the company's standards dropped.

While the scandal surrounding Petrobras's embezzlement practices are still not yet expunged, a vast probe into Petrobras' case, dubbed Operation Car Wash, tells a lot about how the company and Brazil itself want to turn over a new leaf.

Having seen an alleged up to 28 billion U.S. dollars diverted to corrupt practices, Petrobras' CEO Aldemir Bendine is trying to return the company' financial viability.

Earlier this month, Bendines announced that all companies linked to the scandal will be banned from being Petrobras suppliers and that the firm would review all supplier deals and contracts. Any additional suspicions will be turned over to authorities.

As part of a plan to divest itself of around 13.7 billion U.S. dollars of assets, Petrobras will be selling its 49 percent stake in Gaspetro to Japan's Mitsui. It will also continue to move away from business interests in fuel distribution, transport equipment and biofuels to refocus on its core operations.

Rumors are also swirling that numerous companies are circling to buy or acquire a share in BR Distribuidora -- Petrobras' famed petroleum distribution arm.

Naturally, these actions are not enough to shield Petrobras from short-term consequences of its fiscal mismanagement and destroyed public trust.

According to Bank of America Merrill-Lynch, it is no surprise that investment banks believe Petrobras will not find a home in international debt capital markets until well into 2016.

Furthermore, Petrobras is getting smacked with a slew of lawsuits from investors who lost billions of dollars in the corruption scandal.

However, whereas this could be a death knell for most firms, Brazil needs Petrobras to survive. It is still largely held by the government and is responsible for extracting and selling much of the fuel used by Brazilians.

Brazil, though drawing concern for its continued economic torpor, has also been praised for the frank and aggressive way of dealing with corrupt politicians and businessmen by jailing dozens and investigating hundreds.

This is why President Dilma Rousseff, who has been cleared of wrongdoing in the scandal, should fight tooth and nail to keep it afloat.

She has some tools to help her do that. For starters, Petrobras has a war chest of almost 26 billion U.S. dollars, according to Reuters. It also has the fourth largest oil reserves in the world, worth around 11.7 billion barrels.

Then, its current production is not doing badly. This week, Solange Guedes, Petrobras' exploration and production director, stated that production has tripled in the bountiful pre-salt fields off the coast of Rio de Janeiro in 30 months.

While the flagging oil prices do not mean that such progress will soon return Petrobras to financial health, it is positive news.

Virtually the entire Brazilian oil and gas industry is built around Petrobras and has depended on it for decades. Endi