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Citing unnamed sources close to the matter, Valor said CEO
Roberto Castello Branco is trying to push out independent board
members Segen Estefen and Durval Santos, whose terms end in
2020.
The board is expected to decide soon on a "transfer-of-rights"
dispute with the government, which is worth billions of dollars
and relates to a promising offshore oil area. With the departure
of Estefen and Santos, the new government would name four of 11
board members at Petrobras, as the company is known, given the
recent resignation of two other board members.
Such an abrupt turnover for theoretically independent board
members underscores long-standing corporate governance questions
for the hugely influential oil company, which past governments
have often used as a blunt tool for economic policy.
Petrobras did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Economy Minister Paulo Guedes has railed against the state's
outsized role in the Brazilian economy, even proposing that
Petrobras and other state-run firms be privatized or split up.
Preferred shares of Petrobras slipped 1.2 percent in early
trading, more than the 0.2 percent decline of the benchmark
Bovespa stock index <.BVSP>.
Earlier this week, Petrobras said in a filing that the country's
audit court was analyzing a potential $14 billion payment from
the government to the company to settle the transfer of rights
issue. The Economy Ministry had denied reports that this would
be the final number.
A government credit on that scale for Petrobras would add to
headaches for Guedes and new President Jair Bolsonaro, who are
struggling to rein in a gaping budget deficit.
(Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Frances Kerry)
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