How the Petrobras Scandal Buried Brazil's Dream for Offshore Oil

Buried off the coast of Brazil, beneath miles of seawater, rock and salt, lie vast oil reserves -- at least 50 billion barrels -- that were supposed to yield untold riches for this nation.

But, as so often happens in Brazil, the early promise of this sprawling prehistoric geological formation known as the pre-salt is giving way to gloom. Eight years after the reserves were discovered, government intervention, corruption and mismanagement at the state-run oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA have cast doubt over Brazil’s ability to capture and leverage its oil wealth to lift its entire economy.