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NEWSMAKER-Magda Chambriard, brand-new Petrobras CEO, charged by Lula with firing up job creation

The next chief executive of Petrobras, Magda Chambriard, arrives with the résumé and mandate to make Brazil's staterun oil company what it was under previous Employee Celebration federal governments: an engine of job development and industrial development, said people familiar with the matter.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva - who utilized Petrobras to stimulate domestic shipbuilding and significant refinery jobs throughout his earlier 2002-2010 presidency - has actually tapped the four-decade petroleum industry veteran to reboot that vision, sources stated.

Petrobras shares toppled on Wednesday on news of the CEO swap, as investors balked at the prospect of more extreme capital spending that may suggest sacrificing the generous dividends of current years.

The shake-up at Petrobras has also caused the exit of the primary financial officer and is anticipated to strike other senior officers. It might also damage former CEO Jean Paul Prates' plans for overseas wind tasks and a long-lasting shift to renewable energy.

Chambriard got her start in the market as a Petrobras engineer in 1980 and ran Brazilian oil and gas regulator ANP from 2012 to 2016. She will be wanting to breathe fresh life into domestic shipyards, fertilizer plants, refineries, and gas lines, stated three sources with knowledge of the matter.

was not able to reach Chambriard for remark. She has not revealed remarks since being called.

Brazil's struggling shipbuilding industry will be a top top priority for her, said a source at Petrobras, mentioning Lula's. disappointment by the failure of Prates to revive the job-intensive. sector. Chambriard and Lula have actually gone over propositions to produce. shipbuilding tasks in at least three personal meetings, stated a. source near Chambriard.

The very same source said that no plan to make modifications to the. company's dividend policy had come out of the meetings in between. Lula and Chambriard. Another family pet peeve of Lula, the president. has actually complained publicly that the firm pays too much to. shareholders while not investing enough in Brazilian market.

With an expected boost in financial investments, dividends to. shareholders will naturally fall, said the source.

Chambriard served as ANP director under previous President. Dilma Rousseff, Lula's Employee Celebration follower and her personal. friend, according to Allan Kardec, a former ANP director who. worked closely with Chambriard at the agency for about 4. years.

Chambriard is likely to concentrate on expanding oil expedition. and production at Petrobras, stated Kardec.

He praised Chambriard's deep technical background and stated. she shares a vision for Petrobras - where she worked for over 20. years - with Lula and the Workers Party. Petrobras employees union. FUP applauded her visit, saying she shares their views on. the need to enhance Brazil's shipbuilding market and broaden. regional refining capability.

Kardec and Guilherme Papaterra, who also dealt with. Chambriard at ANP, both said they expect her to step up. questionable efforts to explore for oil in the offshore Foz do. Amazonas basin, part of the so-called Equatorial Margin.

The area is thought about Brazil's most appealing frontier for. oil exploration because it shares geology with neighboring Guyana,. where Exxon is establishing huge fields. However, environmental. regulator Ibama has denied a drilling license in the location,. mentioning concerns about the influence on the area's delicate biome. and Indigenous peoples.

Chambriard will bring a more technical view to the dispute,. said Papaterra. In this Ibama conversation, in this problem of Foz. do Amazonas ... she has authority..

(source: Reuters)