article: The state oil firm's technicians discovered one of the world's largest oil reserves deep beneath the seabed - under miles of layers of salt. And then two years later, it struck gold again, finding yet another giant oil reserve. Optimism was running high. The firm went to the markets and raised over $70bn - the world's largest share issue ever. Brazil's economy was at cruising speed too, finally taking off after years of meagre growth. But the good times did not last long - for neither the company nor the country. A massive corruption scandal last year eroded much of Petrobras's market value. Brazil's economy too has been on a downward spiral - with high inflation, slow growth and low confidence. So how did it all go so wrong, so fast? Petrobras's oil bonanza and Brazil's emerging star status are fairly recent phenomena. Just a few decades ago, prospects were dire for both. In the early 1990s, Brazil was a young democracy in deep economic trouble. Annualised inflation was running close to 5,000%. Decades of protectionism meant there was little competition in most sectors and many national firms had become inefficient. Petrobras was seen as part of that landscape by many who wanted to privatise it. One critic used to refer to it as "Petrossauro" - a large, outdated structure that moved slowly and was doomed to extinction in the modern world. Brazil's fortunes started to change in the mid-1990s - both internally and externally. Through reforms, successive governments were able to defeat hyperinflation, open up Brazil's economy to the world and redistribute growth, lifting millions out of poverty. A decade of global economic boom favoured Brazil's champion exports - commodities like coffee, soya, beef and oil. Brazil's oil sector was opened to foreign companies, but local laws made sure Petrobras kept its role at the top of every major project. A decade of high international oil prices helped give a great boost to the firm's investment plans. By 2010 - after all oil discoveries - it felt like Brazil and Petrobras had finally "arrived" at the top. But then things took a turn for the worse. One problem was Petrobras's desperate need for cash. Brazil's treasure trove is buried deep below the pre-salt layer and can only be extracted with expensive methods. President Dilma Rousseff was adamant that Petrobras should play a major role in all fields, although it did not have the resources to do it alone. So the company sought to attract partners and raise money abroad by selling many of its assets. Just as it was taking on its biggest financial challenge ever, Petrobras was hit by a recurrent obstacle in Brazil's history: corruption. An investigation by Brazil's Federal Police revealed that the state oil giant was being used illegally as a cash cow for most parties in the government coalition. Its top executives are all politically appointed by the government. They allegedly handed out Petrobras contracts in exchange for party donations and bribes. A string of high-profile arrests were made - from top Brazilian CEOs to the
summary: In 2008, Petrobras and its main stakeholder - the government of Brazil - hit the jackpot.