Pedro Parente, the embattled President of Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras, resigned on Friday. In a letter to Brazilian President Michel Temer, he said he was quitting in order to give Temer a new start in setting energy policies. He said his resignation was “irrevocable.” Parente resigned just as a two-week truckers’ strike came to an end. Truckers walked off their jobs protesting high diesel fuel prices. The Temer administration ended the strike by agreeing to reduce diesel prices. Parente, however, opposed the move, saying it violated Petrobras’ policy of tying oil-product prices to international market fluctuations. Parente took over the top job at Petrobras, Brazil’s largest industrial corporation, in 2016. During his two years at the helm, he revised pricing policies, sold assets, streamlined administration and paid down onerous debts. In 2016, Petrobras was still reeling from steep losses to asset values due to a corruption scandal involving top company officials.
Link to government news agency report
More Testimonials