Petrobras faces another period of uncertainty

Investors are wary about government intervention as the NOC welcomes its latest CEO

Barely more than three months since Brazil’s elections it is, once again, all change at the top for state energy giant Petrobras. Former president Jair Bolsonaro may have burned through four CEOs in as many years, but returning President Lula da Silva has been quick to appoint his own political ally to the hotseat. And oil market watchers must weigh up the implications. Key priorities for the state-run company’s new top man include boosting the upstream business, in which it has already committed billions this year, a reluctance to shed some of its refining operations and keep Petrobras as a fully integrated business, and moves to curb inflation by delinking domestic fuel prices from global