Government wants to postpone vote on shielding measures in Petrobras management

The government wants to postpone voting on changes to the statute that would reinforce Petrobras’ shielding structure against interference in its management. The proposal is on the agenda of the shareholders’ meeting held this Wednesday (13).

Among the changes, Petrobras proposed to take the approval of its social responsibility policy to the board of directors and the adoption of a qualified quorum for the appointment and dismissal of the company’s Director of Governance.

For analysts, the measures reinforce the company’s governance, by giving more power to the board of directors over matters. They are on the agenda of the extraordinary meeting that will begin after the meeting of shareholders that will choose the new collegiate.

In a note, the MME (Ministry of Mines and Energy) says that the topics “will be addressed at a next opportunity, as the matters are no longer submitted to the supervisory Ministry for consideration, as provided for in the Ordinance of the Ministry of Economy”.

“The MME did not ask to withdraw [o item da pauta]only the rite was not followed”, concludes the text.

Since 2016, Petrobras has been promoting changes in its bylaws to reinforce the company’s independence from the controlling shareholder, a process initiated under the argument that it was necessary to avoid losses to the company, such as those generated by the damming of fuel prices in the Dilma government.

It is not yet clear whether the president of the assembly, Francisco Costa e Silva, will keep the item on the agenda, forcing the government to vote against it, or if he will suspend the extraordinary assembly.

At the ordinary meeting, which began at 3 pm, shareholders are evaluating, in addition to the renewal of the board, items such as the approval of the company’s financial statements, the payment of dividends and the distribution of bonuses for the result of 2021.

The meeting takes place after a troubled process of choosing candidates for the command of the company and its board. The first nominees by the government, Adriano Pires and Rodolfo Landim, declined the invitations after questioning about conflict of interests.

For their places, José Mauro Coelho and Marcio Weber were nominated, respectively. The first has 14 years of service in the government’s energy area and the second has already been employed by the state-owned company and worked in a service provider for the oil sector.

Coelho will replace General Joaquim Silva e Luna, fired by President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) just under a year after his inauguration, shortly after the company announced mega-increases in fuel prices.