Petrobras is the largest company in Latin America by market capitalization and revenue, and the largest company headquartered in the Southern Hemisphere by market value.The company was founded in 1953, mainly due to the efforts of then Brazilian President Getúlio Vargas. While the company ceased to be Brazil’s legal monopolist in the oil industry in 1997, it remains a significant oil producer, with output of more than 2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, as well as a major distributor of oil products.