Government appoints José Mauro Ferreira Coelho to preside over Petrobras

The Ministry of Mines and Energy presented this Wednesday (6th) the names of José Mauro Ferreira Coelho to preside over Petrobras and Márcio Andrade Weber to command the State-owned Board of Directors.

The names are part of an internal solution by the government, which did not find people from the private sector willing to fill the posts amid pressure from President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) on fuel prices. As a result, options already linked to public administration began to be discussed.

While Coelho is already a member of the board of a state-owned company and has passed through the MME (Ministry of Mines and Energy), Weber is on the board of directors of the oil company itself.

Coelho is chairman of the Board of Directors of the state-owned PPSA (Pré-Sal Petróleo SA) and was in quarantine, after resigning, in October last year, from the position of secretary of Oil, Gas and Biofuels at the MME. He was a public servant for 14 years.

He holds a degree in industrial chemistry, a master’s degree in materials engineering from IME (Instituto Militar de Engenharia) and a doctorate in energy planning from UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro).

Close to the Minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque, Coelho’s name had been considered for being one of the few with experience in the oil and gas sector in Bolsonarista management.

Weber, on the other hand, is a director of the company Petroserv and worked for 16 years at Petrobras. He worked for other companies and provided advice to private groups in the operation of oil exploration platforms.

He is a civil engineer from UFRGS (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul), with a specialization in petroleum engineering from Petrobras. He is already a member of the state-owned company’s current board of directors.

Both names need to be approved by the Petrobras meeting, scheduled for next Wednesday (13). In a statement, the state-owned company confirmed that it had received the government’s nominations.

The choice of Joaquim Silva e Luna’s successor at Petrobras was marked by uncertainties and disagreements. The first name indicated by the government was that of businessman Adriano Pires, founding partner of CBIE (Brazilian Infrastructure Center), who ended up giving up even before taking over.

In a letter to Minister Albuquerque, Pires claimed that he would not be able to leave his consultancy “in such a short time” to take charge of Petrobras. To palace advisors, however, the businessman alleged a potential conflict of interest to justify his withdrawal.

One of the main obstacles to the appointment was the fact that Pires wanted to transfer the CBIE shares to his son, who is now a partner and director of the company. The problem is that, in order to comply with the requirements of the State-Owned Companies Act, the relative would also have to give up the company — which he did not want.

In addition to the businessman, Rodolfo Landim, who was previously appointed by Bolsonaro to chair the state-owned company’s board of directors, also gave up.

If approved, he would replace Admiral Eduardo Bacellar Leal Ferreira, who asked to step down citing personal reasons. When he declined the invitation, Landim claimed difficulty in reconciling the position with his position as president of Flamengo.

Although the financial market initially celebrated the two government appointments, Landim and Pires would form a duo at Petrobras that is considered embarrassing in the eyes of experts, as both are close to Bahian businessman Carlos Suarez, who has strong interests in the gas sector.

The perception in the business sector, after the announcement of the double, is that political engineering was underway in the government and in Congress to give space to Suarez’s interests in Petrobras. The businessman from Bahia is also close to many politicians, especially from the center, including the mayor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL).

With the withdrawal of Pires and Landim, the government began to look for other market names for the post, but it ran into many obstacles. In addition to the political risk of interfering with the company’s pricing policy, the prospect of a short term in office weighed in on the end of Bolsonaro’s current term.

In the back-and-forth of invitations, polls and speculations, Palácio do Planalto received a refusal from the former president of the ANP (National Petroleum Agency) Décio Oddone, who had been probed for the presidency of the state-owned company.

On another front, the option for Caio Mário Paes de Andrade, assistant to Minister Paulo Guedes (Economy) was even put on the table, but faced a weighty veto, that of Lira.

With no new candidates for the presidency and the board of directors of Petrobras, the government even considered postponing the vote on the new composition at next week’s assembly, but this ended up being discarded by the minister of Mines and Energy.

Appointed by the government to command Petrobras

José Mauro Ferreira Coelho, nominated for the executive presidency

Chairman of the board of directors of the state-owned company Pré-Sal Petróleo. He was secretary of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels at the Ministry of Mines and Energy. He has industry experience and has served as an undergraduate and graduate faculty.

Bachelor in Industrial Chemistry, Master in Materials Engineering from the Military Institute of Engineering (IME) and Doctor in Energy Planning from the Energy Planning Program (PPE) of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).

Márcio Andrade Weber, nominated for the presidency of the Board of Directors

Director of the Petroserv company. He worked for 16 years at Petrobras. He worked at other companies and provided advice to the PMI group in the operation of platforms.

Civil engineer from UFRGS (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul), with specialization in petroleum engineering from Petrobras.