Petrobras CEO Jean Paul Prates takes part in a news conference in Houston, Tex., on March 8, 2023.Callaghan O'Hare/Reuters
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva canceled a meeting on Sunday evening with members of his cabinet that could have decided on whether to replace the chief executive of Brazil’s state-run oil firm Petrobras , two sources told Reuters.
On Sunday, Reuters reported that the ministers of Finance and of Mines and Energy, Fernando Haddad and Alexandre Silveira, along with Lula’s chief of staff, Rui Costa, had been summoned to the meeting at the presidential residence, the Alvorada Palace.
The meeting would have taken place after a week of speculation that Petrobras CEO Jean Paul Prates would be replaced. On Thursday, government sources said the resignation of the Petrobras chief executive was likely in the coming days.
But Lula decided to cancel the meeting as he was bothered with it being leaked to the press, one of the sources said. He is now expected to meet Haddad on Monday at 6pm local time (2100 GMT), according to his agenda.
A source told Reuters on Sunday that Prates would not last as Petrobras CEO “to the end of the week.”
Prates has been under fire from parts of the government that want to see him bring down fuel prices and ramp up job-creating investments. Last month, he clashed with cabinet members over a Petrobras dividend withheld from investors.
The president of Brazil’s National Development Bank (BNDES), Aloizio Mercadante, a close aide to Lula, has been named as a possible candidate to take over from Prates.
Uncertainty about the future of Petrobras has brought volatility to the company’s share prices in recent sessions.