Brazil's interim President Michel Temer has decided to appoint engineer and former Bunge executive Pedro Parente to be CEO of ailing state-run oil company Petrobras, O Globo newspaper reported on May 16.
Parente was chief of staff of former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, during whose administration he successfully managed a severe energy crisis that required electricity rationing. Parente was CEO of Bunge Brasil, a unit of agribusiness giant Bunge, the largest exporter of Brazilian grains. In the 2001 energy crisis, Parente sidestepped state utilities that were up for sale and relied on private thermo-electric generators that used natural gas to increase power supplies.
O Globo, citing unnamed sources, said Temer wants to tap Parente's management skills to rescue Petrobras from a financial crisis brought on by low global oil prices and a massive corruption scandal that has paralyzed much of its expansion projects. Petrobras is the most indebted oil company in the world.
Temer, who replaced suspended President Dilma Rousseff on May 12 while she faces an impeachment trial, chose Parente on May 16 and will discuss the appointment with his newly appointed Energy Minister Fernando Coelho on May 17, O Globo said on its online version. He would replace current CEO Aldemir Bendine.
Temer spokesman Marcio de Freitas told Reuters by WhatsApp that "nothing has been decided yet."
Petrobras has a large divestment plan that includes the sales of its subsidiaries to recover from a financial crisis that has stunted its investment programs, which include development of huge reservoirs of oil in the offshore Subsalt Polygon.
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