Mealey's (July 27, 2020, 11:36 AM EDT) -- NEW ORLEANS — Three petroleum companies on July 23 were granted extra time to move for panel rehearing or rehearing en banc after a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on July 16 affirmed a district court's confirmation of a $615.62 million arbitral award against them in a deepwater drilling contract; the panel found that enforcing the arbitration agreement did not violate public policy even though the underlying contract was procured through bribery (Vantage Deepwater Co., et al. v. Petrobras America Inc., et al., No. 19-20435, 5th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 22199)....