Vale CEO to Cut Debt by End 2017
Previous guidance $15 billion by mid-2017; focus on margins rather than volume. Vale Chief Executive Officer Murilo Ferreira said on Wednesday the firm was seeking to cut its debt to between $15 billion and $17 billion by the end of 2017, a slight revision of previous guidance. Along with the rest of the mining industry, Vale was hard hit by a collapse in commodity prices last year, but for Vale the impact was made worse by the collapse of a dam in Brazil, part of the Samarco venture it jointly operates with BHP Billiton .
Brazil's Temer Looking to Replace Vale CEO
Brazil's interim President Michel Temer plans to replace the head of the nation's largest miner, Vale SA, because he is too closely allied with suspended President Dilma Rousseff, newspaper Valor reported on Thursday. Valor said a decision has yet to be taken, and cited one source as saying that controlling shareholders had not yet discussed the issue. A government move to replace current Chief Executive Murilo Ferreira would be controversial as Vale, the world's largest producer of iron ore, is a private company that is supposedly free from state interference.
Petrobras Approves Guedes as Chairman
Brazil's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras said on Friday its board of directors voted to make Luiz Nelson Guedes de Carvalho chairman until Jan. 31. Guedes has been serving as interim chairman since September when he assumed the top board spot after a decision by Murilo Ferreira, chief executive of Brazilian mining company Vale SA , to step down temporarily. Ferreira made his departure permanent in November. (Reporting by Jeb Blount; Editing by James Dalgleish)
Ferreira Quits Petrobras
Murilo Ferreira quit as chairman of Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro SA, the state-controlled oil company said on Monday, without disclosing the reason for his decision. Ferreira had been on a leave of absence since Sept. 14, and Nelson Carvalho replaced him on an interim basis. In a securities filing, the company known as Petrobras said Carvalho would stay in that position until the board convened to elect a new chairman. Ferreira, who has been chief executive officer of Brazilian iron ore miner Vale SA since 2011, became Petrobras chairman of Petrobras in April, as the company was sinking deeper into its the worst crisis in history.
Vale, BHP to Create Fund for Brazil Dam Burst Recovery
Mining companies Vale SA and BHP Billiton Ltd plan to create a fund for rebuilding efforts after two dams burst at their iron ore venture in Brazil, their chief executives said in a visit to the site on Wednesday. Vale CEO Murilo Ferreira said Samarco, the joint venture operating the Germano mine complex, had shown it was able to deal with the disaster last Thursday that left at least six people dead and another 22 still missing. (Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer and Marta Nogueira; Writing by Brad Haynes and Caroline Stauffer)
BHP, Vale CEOs Visit Brazilian Mine Disaster Site as Toll Mounts
The chief executives of BHP Billiton Ltd and Vale SA on Wednesday surveyed the devastation caused by burst dams at a Brazilian mine owned by the mining giants, as the human and environmental toll from the disaster mounted. Six people are confirmed killed and another 22 are missing as a result of the ruptures at an iron ore mine in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais nearly a week ago. The search for more victims is continuing along nearly 100 km (62.5 miles) of mud-caked floodplain. Authorities in Minas Gerais…
Petrobras BoD Approves Chairman Leave of Absence
The board of directors of Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras approved the leave of absence of its chairman Murilo Ferreira until Nov 30, the company said in on Wednesday. Ferreira, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of mining company Vale, requested the leave of absence for personal reasons, according to the minutes of the board's meeting on Sept. 14. Petrobras's CEO Aldemir Bendine said on Monday he is confident Ferreira will return to head the company's board. Reporting by Alonso Soto
Petrobras Chairman Requests Leave
The chairman of Brazil's Petrobras, Murilo Ferreira requested leave from the state-run oil company to focus on running mining giant Vale SA, a senior Petrobras source said on Monday. The climate remains harmonious on the board of Petrobras, known formally as Petroleo Brasileiro SA, the source said on the condition of anonymity. Ferreira wanted to focus on his work as chief executive of Vale due to a slowdown in China, the top consumer of Vale's iron ore exports, added the source. (Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier)
Petrobras Fuel Tank Explodes in Brazil, Killing Two
A heating unit at a Petrobras depot in Brazil used to treat fuel for ocean-going ships exploded on Wednesday, killing two workers, the state-run oil company said in a statement. The blast and resulting fire broke out about 10 a.m. (1300 GMT) while workers were doing planned maintenance on the heating unit, said the press office of BR Distribuidora SA, the fuels distribution unit of Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as Petrobras is formally known. The heating unit is used to raise the temperature and reduce the viscosity of bunker fuel, a heavy, sludgy refined petroleum product similar to heating oil.
Petrobras Fuel Unit CEO Could be Out
State-controlled Brazilian oil producer Petróleo Brasileiro SA plans to replace the head of fuel distribution subsidiary BR Distribuidora SA ahead of an initial public offering plan for the unit this year, Valor Econômico newspaper said on Wednesday. According to Valor, the company commonly known as Petrobras will hire an executive recruiting firm to look for a replacement for BR Distribuidora Chief Executive Officer José Lima de Andrade Neto. The newspaper did not say how it obtained the information. Petrobras Chairman Murilo Ferreira…
Petrobras Chairman Dissents on Fuel Unit Sale
RIO DE JANEIRO/SAO PAULO, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Petrobras Chairman Murilo Ferreira dissented in a recent vote to sell a stake of at least 25 percent in the Brazilian state- controlled company's BR Distribuidora SA fuel distribution unit to help reduce debt, board meeting minutes showed. The 10-member board of Petróleo Brasileiro SA, as the oil producer is formally known, approved the proposal 8-2 on Aug. 8, according to minutes published late on Monday. Reuters previously reported that Petrobras was considering listing BR Distribuidora…
Vale CEO Ferreira to Lead Petrobras Board
Brazil's government has selected Murilo Ferreira, the chief executive officer of miner Vale SA, to head the board of state-run Petroleo Brasileiro SA, according to a filing from the oil company on Friday. The board will vote on the nomination at a shareholder's meeting on April 29, the filing said. The Brazilian government is Petroleo Brasileiro's controlling shareholder. On Thursday Petrobras, as the state-run firm is better known, named Luciano Coutinho, the head of Brazil's state development bank BNDES as its chairman until the next shareholder meeting.
Vale to Shut Money-losing Coal Mine in Australia
Brazilian mining giant Vale said on Friday it plans to close its Integra coal mine in Australia because it is losing money, the latest in company efforts to row back from non-core overseas assets. The decision comes as Vale and rivals BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto come under pressure from investors to cut costs and streamline businesses to better weather a period of lower commodity prices. Vale Chief Executive Officer Murilo Ferreira had previously said it was looking to sell a 15 to 25 percent stake in its coal operations. He added, though, that he did not expect that any mines would be closed.
