Petrobras overhauls leadership, awards $447M Valaris drillship extension
Petrobras elected Marcelo Weick Pogliese as interim board chairman, named Angélica Laureano Executive Director of Logistics, Commercialization and Markets through April 2027, and shifted energy transition oversight to William França. It also granted Valaris a 1,064-day DS-4 drillship contract extension adding $447 million to its backlog starting November 2027.
1. Governance Overhaul
Petrobras elected Marcelo Weick Pogliese as interim board chairman and accepted the federal government’s nomination of economist Guilherme Santos Mello for a board seat and potential chairmanship, with a formal vote set for the April 16 shareholder meeting. At the executive level, Claudio Romeo Schlosser departed as Executive Director of Logistics, Commercialization and Markets, with Angélica Laureano appointed to that role through April 2027 and William França assuming interim oversight of Energy Transition and Sustainability.
2. Valaris Drillship Extension
Petrobras awarded Valaris a 1,064-day extension on the DS-4 drillship contract, adding approximately $447 million to Valaris’s backlog starting November 2027. Valaris will partner with PETRONAS Suriname and Halliburton to develop offshore assets in Suriname as part of the extended agreement.