Petrobras Expected to Choose Governance Head on Tuesday

Brazil's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA will likely choose its first chief governance officer on Tuesday, a source with direct knowledge of the company's plans told Reuters on Monday.

 

The governance official is expected to be chosen from a list of candidates put together by a special committee named in December by the board, the source said, requesting anonymity because of a lack of authorization to speak on the matter.

 

The officer will serve a three-year term and will be able to veto actions considered illegal or improper, Chief Executive Officer Maria das Graças Foster said last month.

 

The new position was promised by company executives in November after police and prosecutors conducted a second round of arrests in a giant corruption investigation centered on Petrobras.

 

Under the alleged scheme, Petrobras executives conspired with construction and engineering firms to inflate the cost of contracts. Some of the excess was then allegedly kicked-back to executives, politicians and political parties, including that of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who was herself chairwoman of Petrobras from 2003 to 2010.