Petrobras Nominates Vale CEO as Its Next Chairman

RIO DE JANEIRO--Brazil's state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA said Friday that it has nominated the chief executive of mining giant Vale SA, Murilo Ferreira, as its next board chairman, as the company scrambles to deal with the fallout from a vast corruption scandal.

Mr. Ferreira's nomination will be voted on at Petrobras' next shareholders meeting on April 29.

On Thursday Petrobras said it had appointed Luciano Coutinho, head of the country's development bank, as its new chairman, but didn't make clear that the appointment would be on an interim basis. Petrobras' previous chairman was Guido Mantega, Brazil's former finance minister and a close ally of President Dilma Rousseff.

Mr. Ferreira has been the chief executive at Vale, the world's biggest iron-ore producer, since 2011, and has spent his entire career at the company. A Vale spokesperson declined to comment.

Mr. Ferriera steps into the role of Petrobras chairman at a crucial time for the company. It is in the midst of a widespread corruption scandal in which four former executives are accused of participating in a yearslong bribery scheme. The scandal has pummeled the company's market value, caused a shake-up of its executive ranks, and forced it to scale back an ambitious spending program.

Dozens of politicians and construction company executives have also been implicated in the scheme. Some have denied wrongdoing, others have said they are cooperating with authorities, while some have declined to comment.

The fallout from the Petrobras scandal has also contributed to a dismal overall economic picture for Brazil. Thousands of workers in the oil industry have been laid off in recent months, adding to a bleak unemployment picture here.

Write to Will Connors at [e-mail]

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