State-owned company says the Board of Directors suggests allocating profits of R$43.9 billion to the capital remuneration reserve
A Petrobras said again in a note this Thursday (April 4, 2024) that there is still no definitive decision on the allocation of the payment of the value of extraordinary dividends. Here's the complete of the statement (PDF – 78 kB).
According to the state-owned company, the Board of Directors suggests allocating the profit for the 2023 financial year, R$43.9 billionfor the capital remuneration reserve.
“Petrobras' CA (Board of Directors) proposed to the Ordinary General Meeting that the amount of R$43.9 billion referring to the remaining profit for the 2023 financial year be fully allocated to the capital remuneration reserve“states the note.
According to the Power360, the federal government is still studying a model to pay extraordinary dividends. The amount had been promised by the current president of the company, Jean Paul Pratesbut it was not carried out.
In a meeting this Thursday afternoon (April 4), the topic was debated by 3 ministers: Fernando Haddad (Finance), Rui Costa (Civil House) and Alexandre Silveira (Mines and Energy). The idea of making payment has evolved. But there was no consensus on the final value.
Haddad defends full payment. There are at least two reasons for this:
- the Union is the main shareholder and would receive R$12 billion; It is
- would reduce noise with the market.
On the other hand, Rui and Silveira understand that it would be necessary to rethink the total value. They want part of this amount to be kept with the state-owned company to be reused as part of the investment plan.
Per hour, There is not a consensus value placed on the table.
In the statement, Petrobras states that the authority to approve the allocation of results, including the payment of dividends, lies with the General Shareholders' Meeting. The next meeting will be held on April 25th.
Plates outside
It is taken for granted in parts of the government that Prates will leave command of the largest state-owned company in the country. There is a document in the government with 11 items listing the friction he would have created with his decisions between PT ministers and chiefs. Here's what the list says:
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- was against Petrobras being self-sufficient in refining;
- was against Petrobras investing in fertilizers and petrochemicals;
- tried to extinguish the company's SMS (Safety, Health and Environment) area, traditionally linked to the FUP (Single Federation of Petroleum Workers);
- attempted to pay 50% of free cash flow from ordinary dividends, contrary to government guidance to pay 45%;
- tried to force the purchase of wind farms offshore ready in Scotland, even without an established legal framework;
- ignored the fertilizer plant in Três Lagoas (MS), which had the support of ministers Geraldo Alckmin (Industry and Commerce) and Simone Tebet (Planning);
- hindered the resumption of fertilizers from the Ansa plant (Araucária Nitrogenados SA), in Paraná, which had the support of PT president, Gleisi Hoffman (PR);
- did not change the gas reinjection policy and maintains the price of the product above the international average, hindering Alckmin's reindustrialization plan and the operation of the Unigel plant in Bahia, supported by Rui Costa, stopped due to the price;
- did not present a consistent plan for resuming the shipping industry and investing in local content;
- abstained on the issue of extraordinary dividends, contrary to the decision of the government and the Petrobras risk area;
- He maintained Bolsonarists in strategic positions within the company, especially in the area of energy transition.
Today, the dismissal of Jean Paul Prates of the presidency of Petrobras is taken for granted within the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). A The government's expectation is that the president will meet with the CEO of the state-owned company and communicate the decision in the next few days.
The fall of Prates is considered so certain in the Esplanada that part of the government already moving to nominate the president of the BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development), Aloizio Mercadantein charge.
A first survey was carried out by the Executive. The answer was negative, for now, on the grounds that Prates remains in office and it would not be wise to accept the vacancy while the chair remains occupied. He and Prates have a good relationship.
Prates' situation in charge of the state-owned oil company is seen as unsustainable. The current president of Petrobras asked for a meeting with Lula to discuss the situation. There is still no set date for the meeting.
According to the investigation of the Power360Prates is dissatisfied with Lula's lack of support against the attacks he has received from members of the government, especially the minister of Mines and Energy. He threatens to resign if he does not have greater support from Planalto.
The CEO has told allies that he is at his limit. He wants the PT member to mediate the situation in his favor. On the Planalto side, this support seems unlikely and no one is betting that the current president of Petrobras will remain in the chair until the end of Lula's term, in December 2026.
FRIED
Prates has been through a “frying” from sectors of the government that want him out of office. Since last year, Silveira and Rui Costa (Casa Civil) have criticized his management. Lula did not intervene publicly. The PT member's silence, to a certain extent, is read as tacit support for Costa and Silveira.
Prates and the Minister of Mines and Energy have already had a series of clashes since last year. In the beginning, the disputes concentrated in technical aspects, such as the reinjection of natural gas into the state-owned oil wells, but the treatment between the parties became harsher over time.
The most critical episode occurred last month, when government representatives on the Petrobras Board of Directors vetoed the distribution of extraordinary dividends under the guidance of Silveira and Rui Costa.
At the time, Prates abstained from the vote and tried to arrange a distribution of dividends. He was defeated and unauthorized by Lula. The attitude was seen as a lack of commitment from the Executive with the direction that the government wants to give to Petrobras.
In an interview with the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo on Wednesday (April 3), Silveira minimized the dispute with Prates. The minister said that the disputes between the Ministry of Mines and Energy and the president of Petrobras are “natural” in all governments and that, despite respecting Prates, he will never give up his authority over the Brazilian energy sector.
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