MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petrobras chairman Murilo Ferreira is taking a leave of absence less than five months after he was appointed to help the Brazilian government-controlled company emerge from a mountain of debt and a corruption scandal, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.
Ferreira, who will continue in his role as CEO of Vale, requested leave from Petrobras board duties until Nov. 30 for personal reasons, the iron-ore miner said in an e-mailed response. His backup at Petrobras, Clovis Torres, also a Vale executive, will stand aside to make it easier for the board to nominate an interim chairman among current members.
"This could lead to greater concerns about the independence of the board and corporate governance," Bank of America analysts Frank McGann and Vicente Falanga said Monday in a note to clients. "We believe this could lead to additional investor caution towards Petrobras’ shares."
Divergences between Ferreira and management, led by CEO Aldemir Bendine, surfaced last month when Ferreira voted against selling a stake in the company’s fuel distribution unit before taking steps to improve performance.
Ferreira’s temporary board departure comes as Petrobras seeks to deepen cutbacks and productivity measures after prices collapsed and its credit rating was cut to junk. The Rio de Janeiro-based producer, formally known as Petroleo Brasileiro, declined to comment on reasons for the leave.
Prior to a rating downgrade by Standard & Poor’s last week, Petrobras had announced plans to reduce its operating costs by about USD12 billion through 2019. The company will also review its outlook for currency and oil prices, as the scenario has deteriorated since it unveiled a business plan in June.
Ferreira’s appointment in April, replacing Luciano Coutinho, broke with a tradition of political appointees. Previously, the chairman position was occupied by former finance minister Guido Mantega and president Dilma Rousseff during the government of her predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
He and Bendine were appointed to guide Petrobras out of a scandal involving graft and mismanagement at refinery projects that cost the company billions of dollars and contributed to the biggest debt load among oil producers globally.
As MRC informed earlier, Braskem signed a contract with state-run producer Petrobras for the supply of naphtha feedstock. The new contract, which continues the terms of a previous naphtha deal, is valid until the end of October.
Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras is an integrated energy firm. Petrobras' activities include exploration, exploitation and production of oil from reservoir wells, shale and other rocks as well as refining, processing, trade and transport of oil and oil products, natural gas and other fluid hydrocarbons, in addition to other energy-related activities.
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