New Petrobras CEO Takes Office

Joaquim Silva e Luna has begun his mandate as Petrobras’ chief executive officer (CEO) following a ceremony held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The ceremony was attended in person by the Minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque, the president of the Petrobras Board of Directors, Eduardo Bacellar Leal Ferreira, and the director-general of the ANP, Rodolfo Saboia.

“There is no doubt that the main challenges, among many others, are to make Petrobras increasingly stronger, working with a vision for the future, with safety, respect for the environment, for shareholders and for society in general, in order to ensure the highest possible return on the capital employed, to grow with the support of world-class oil and gas assets, in deep and ultradeep waters, relentlessly seeking low efficiency costs,” Luna said in his inauguration speech, which was broadcasted live.

“And to do all of this by reconciling consumer and shareholder interests, by valuing our oil workers, by seeking to reduce volatility without disrespecting international parity, by pursuing debt reduction, by investing in research and development, and by contributing to generate predictability in national economic planning. Petrobras' Strategic Plan 2021-2025 already signals the main lines for overcoming these challenges,” he added.

Petrobras’ board of directors elected Luna to the position of CEO of the company in a meeting held on April 16. Luna was the Brazilian General Director of Itaipu Binacional from February 2019 to April 2021. He is a reserve Army General and served in the Ministry of Defense from March 2014 to January 2019, as General Secretary of the Ministry and as Minister of Defense.

Petrobras is a Brazilian company with more than 49,000 employees. It is one of the largest producers of oil and gas in the world, and is primarily engaged in exploration and production, refining, energy generation, and trading.

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