Petrobras receives six board nominations from Brazilian government

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Brazilian Petrobras shareholders will consider six government-nominated individuals as potential members of the firm’s board of directors, to be voted on at the upcoming extraordinary general meeting, the state-run oil and gas company said on Monday.

The individuals nominated are Eduardo Bacellar Leal Ferreira, current chairman of Petrobras’ board of directors; Joaquim Silva e Luna, retired military general; Ruy Flaks Schneider, engineer and executive; Márcio Andrade Weber, engineer and former Petrobras board member; Murilo Marroquim de Souza, former upstream executive, and Sonia Julia Sulzbeck Villalobos, financial expert and former board member of Telefônica do Brasil.

The government is the controlling shareholder of Petrobras. Of those nominated, five were nominated by the Ministry of Mines and Energy, while one was nominated by the Economy Ministry.

Petrobras said that the government could still nominate two more individuals.

This announcement comes after four directors said last week they would step down, following a request by the Brazilian government to replace the company’s CEO with Silva e Luna.

Petrobras has yet to disclose a date for the extraordinary general meeting.