Petrobras granted quality seal for state-run company governance

In a statement made today (Aug 8), Brazil's state-run oil giant Petrobras announced it received a certification under the State-owned Company Highlight in Governance Program, granted by B3, formerly BM&FBovespa.

Petrobras CEO Pedro Parente believes the recognition can help reduce costs in raising funds, among other benefits. “Without a doubt, if a company is recognized for governance through signs made visible publicly, it helps a lot in every aspect,” he told journalists after an event held by magazine Exame.

Petrobras, he said, is still in what he termed “silence period—unable to provide comment or clarifications in connection with financial results and outlooks” before the quarterly report is released, which should take place next Thursday (10).

In May, Petrobras announced the financial result for the first quarter of 2017. The oil giant posted net profits adding up to $1.4 billion, compared to losses totaling $396 million in the same period last year.

Parente noted that the efforts are aimed at improving the company's practices and avoiding corruption-related incidents such as the ones unveiled by Operation Car Wash. “We are really working to prevent the problems from the past from happening again—with the reminder that there are certain things no company can do by court authorities,” he noted.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira