Decision on Petrobras CEO job is up to Brazil's president, says energy minister

BRAZIL’S energy minister Alexandre Silveira said on Tuesday (Apr 9) that he respects Petrobras’ chief executive Jean Paul Prates, and that any decision regarding the CEO is to be made by Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The remarks come after days of speculation over Prates’ future, with some saying the embattled CEO would not survive “to the end of the week.”

Prates has been under fire from parts of the government, among them Silveira, that want to see him bring down fuel prices and ramp up job-creating investments.

Uncertainty about the future of Petrobras brought volatility to the company’s shares prices in recent sessions.

The minister also told reporters that the extra dividends withheld from Petrobras shareholders in March will be issued when the state-run oil firm’s board decides the time is right.

The dividend issue was also a point of friction between Silveira and Prates, with the energy minister having argued for withholding the funds and Prates arguing for the release of 50 per cent of it to shareholders. REUTERS