Peter Millard and Martha Beck, Bloomberg News

RIO/BRASILIA
EnergiesNet.com 06 21 2022

Petrobras’s chief executive officer Jose Mauro Coelho resigned following a fuel price increase that has angered President Jair Bolsonaro and prompted calls for a congressional inquiry.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is formally known, announced his resignation in a statement on Monday. Bolsonaro had already fired Coelho in May and named a replacement, but he remained in the role while the state-owned oil firm went through the formal procedures for appointing the next CEO. 

The company had raised gasoline and diesel prices last week, which unleashed a new round of pressure for the current CEO to immediately step down.  

Read More: Brazil’s Bolsonaro Says Congress Will Investigate Petrobras

Brazil’s president, who is seeking re-election in October, has been publicly bashing Petrobras for what he calls “abusive profits” and has sacked three of its chief executive officers over frustration with the company’s wholesale fuel prices that track international levels. Pump prices and inflation in general are a major complaint among voters. 

Bolsonaro said on Saturday he has the support of congress to start a probe into the state-controlled company and its pricing policy. Lower house Speaker Arthur Lira has also threatened to intervene by imposing punitive taxes on the company’s record profits. 

bloomberg.com 06 20 2022