Prates says that Petrobras advice “guided” by Lula is not “intervention”

The president of Petrobras, Jean Paul Prates, stated on Wednesday night (13) that president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) instructed the company’s board to withhold the payment of extraordinary dividends. Prates highlighted that there was no “undue intervention”, arguing that the government is the oil company’s largest shareholder.

“It is legitimate that the CA [conselho de administração] position yourself guided by the President of the Republic and his direct assistants who are the ministers. That was exactly what happened in relation to the decision on extraordinary dividends”, said the president of the state-owned company in a publication on X.

Last week, Petrobras announced that it will not pay extraordinary dividends. The initiative frustrated shareholders and caused the company to lose R$55.3 billion in market value, on the 8th, amid fears of political interference in the company.

On Monday (11), Prates even said that the retention of extraordinary dividends had not been Lula’s order. “The president did not give any orders on the issue of dividends. We are discussing this with the majority shareholder within the space possible. There was a discussion in time for the announcement of the balance sheet, there was a need to close the balance sheet. And it was decided that we would postpone the discussion,” he said in an interview with g1 portal In this ocasion.

In the new statement, he pointed out that the “market was nervous waiting for dividends whose decision was merely postponement and reservation”. For Prates, talking about intervention in Petrobras is “wanting to create dissent, speculation and misinformation”.

“It is necessary once and for all to understand that Petrobras is a mixed-capital corporation controlled by the Brazilian State, and that this control is exercised legitimately by the majority of its Board of Directors. This cannot be seen as an intervention! It is the sovereign exercise of company control by representatives”, he said.

“Only those who do not understand (or purposely do not want to understand) the nature, objectives and operation of a public company with mixed capital with state control can claim to see this as an undue intervention”, added the company president.

After the repercussion of the decision on dividends, Lula met with Prates and ministers Fernando Haddad (Finance), Alexandre Silveira (Mine and Energy) and Rui Costa (Casa Civil) on Monday afternoon (11). Silveira highlighted that the resumption of payment of extraordinary dividends could be assessed “at the appropriate time”. The Chief Executive declared, before the meeting, that Petrobras should not only think about shareholders and criticized the “crying of the market”.

“We are going to return to reason and work to execute, effectively and efficiently, the Investment Plan of half a trillion reais that we have for the next five years ahead, generating jobs, income, research, taxes and also profits and dividends compatible with our results and ambitions”, highlighted Prates on social media.