CEO of Brazil oil co Petrobras resigns after truckers’ strike
The CEO of Brazil’s troubled state-controlled oil company Petrobras, Pedro Parente, has resigned in the wake of a devastating truckers’ strike over high fuel prices.
The company, a pillar of the Brazilian economy, said Parente “tendered his resignation as president of the company on Friday morning. Nomination of an interim CEO will be examined... during the day today.”
Hours later, the company’s chief financial officer Ivan Monteiro was named as the CEO on an interim basis.
Monteiro, who has been CFO since 2015, was given the interim job during a board meeting that came just hours after Parente stepped down following intense criticism during the truckers’ strike.
Parente quit after President Michel Temer bowed to demands from truckers for cheaper fuel, guaranteeing them discounted diesel for a period of 60 days.
This eroded the autonomy granted to Petrobras in late 2016 to set its own prices -- a key demand of investors.
In the aftermath of the strike, which lasted nine days and shut
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down gas stations and food deliveries across Brazil, Temer hinted that he might restore government price setting. He then backtracked, insisting that Petrobras’ autonomy would remain in place.
Petrobras is also under pressure from Brazil’s oil workers, who demanded Parente’s resignation in a strike launched Wednesday.
Although the strike was called off Thursday, after being declared illegal by a court, oil workers’ unions threatened to mount an indefinite stoppage later this month if their demands were not met. Shares of Petrobras plummeted more than 15% on Friday after the resignation of Parente. Preferential shares on the Sao Paulo stock exchange dropped 16.23% and ordinary shares plunged 15.91%.