RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil’s Energy Ministry has named Marcio Andrade Weber as the new president of Petrobras, following a week-long power vacuum at Latin America’s largest oil producer, which has become the focus of a political dispute over fuel prices.
Weber is currently a member of the company’s Management Board. Insiders say Marcio Weber will also face opposition at Petrobras. The reason is that when Weber was nominated for the board of directors last year, he was apparantely rejected by the company’s human resources committee.
Weber, 58, a civil engineer, is a largely blank slate, so much so that it’s nearly impossible to find a photo of him at this point.
The government also named José Mauro Ferreira Coelho as the new chief executive, according to a public statement. Nominees must be approved by a shareholder of the company.
The announcement came after Adriano Pires declined his post, despite the Brazilian government’s insistence that he accept it.
The industry veteran was appointed by the Brazilian government, the company’s majority shareholder, to replace Joaquim Silva e Luna, who was embroiled in a dispute with President Jair Bolsonaro over fuel prices. On Sunday, Rodolfo Landim, Bolsonaro’s preferred candidate to chair the committee, also declined the post.
Latin America’s largest oil producer will have its third chief executive from early 2021. Silva e Luna was ousted after political pressure to lower fuel prices increased, which was also the reason for the dismissal of his predecessor Roberto Castello Branco a year earlier.