Five board members of Brazilian state-owned oil giant Petrobras are set to step down following the removal of its chief executive officer Roberto Castello Branco, media reports said. Recently, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said he was ousting the Petrobras CEO following a string of fuel price increases.
Petrobras revealed the decision of its board members to step down through a securities exchange filing. The five directors were appointed by the government, which holds seven of Petrobras’ 11 board seats, but investors viewed them as staunch opponents of government interference in the publicly-traded company. Castello Branco is also expected to step down during the shareholders’ meeting, the date for which has not been fixed as of yet.
Last month, it was reported that Petrobras seeks to sell the Polo Urucu natural gas field and infrastructure to Eneva as part of its divestment plan. Both the companies held talks about the development earlier this week. Eneva is a power generation firm that continues to expand its presence across regions such as Amazonas and Solimoes basins. The company’s operations will be bolstered if the deal is successful.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Petrobras has set a new record for annual output in 2020. The oil company pumped an average of 2.28 million bpd in 2020. It broke its previous record of an average of 2.23 million bpd, which was set in 2015. According to Petrobras, it was greatly helped by the performance at the Buzios Field and improved corrosion-treatment efforts at its subsalt fields.