Petrobras loses R$32 billion after proposal that facilitates political interference

Petrobras shares fell 6.60% and the company lost R$32.3 billion in market value after the state-owned company announced, this Monday morning (23), a change in the “policy for appointing members of the high administration and the supervisory board”. The announcement has been interpreted as a “dribble” in the State Law.

The measure, which still needs approval by the shareholders’ meeting, proposes the removal of the section of the statute that prohibits nominations from members of the government or political parties and unions.

Another point of the proposal that also had a negative impact on the company’s market value is the change in shareholder remuneration.

In a statement, Petrobras said that the objective is to adapt the appointment policy to the interpretation of the former minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Ricardo Lewandowski. Despite the company’s haste, the matter has not yet been debated in plenary by the Supreme Court.

According to Folha de São Paulo, the changes were proposed by the president of the council, the Secretary of Oil and Gas of the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), Pietro Mendes.

The president of the state-owned company, PT member Jean Paul Prates, reportedly questioned the presentation of the proposal without prior debate.

On Sunday, one day before the drop in the value of Petrobras, Prates praised the appreciation of the company’s shares under the current government and countered criticism of the PT management.

“It’s not magic. And management! For those who doubt, just look at the comparison with other counterparts […] And there were opposing people betting that the ‘PT’s management’ would sink the company. And there were also people allied with us betting on failure”, wrote Prates on social media.