BRAZILIAN president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva yesterday named Jean Paul Prates, a senator for his left-wing Workers’ Party, as his choice to take the reins at state-run oil company Petrobras.

“I would like to announce the nomination of Jean Paul Prates, a lawyer, economist and energy sector specialist, to lead the company to a great future,” the veteran leftist, who is set to take office tomorrow, wrote on Twitter.

Petrobras shares were down around 1.2% in afternoon trading on the Sao Paulo stock exchange after the news.

Prates, 54, has been coordinator for oil, natural gas and biofuel issues on Lula’s transition team.

His nomination must be approved by Petrobras’ board of directors. – AFP, December 31, 2022.