By an OGJ Online Correspondent
HOUSTON, Dec. 5 -- Citing health and personal problems, Henri Philippe Reichstul, president of Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) has resigned as of Dec. 20.
Brazil's President Fernando Henrique Cardoso accepted the resignation and invited Francisco Gros, president of Brazil's National Economic and Development Bank (BNDES) to replace Reichstul. Gros has accepted.
BNDES is Brazil's largest investment bank.
Reichstul resigned during Petrobras' best financial performance since it was founded in 1953. It posted record net profit of $5 billion at the end of 2000 and net profit of $2.69 billion in the first half of 2001.
Some believe a string of environmental disasters, including the sinking last March of the $500 million P-36 platform and two oil spills, pressured Reichstul to step down from the position he has held since March 1999.
A Brazilian congressional inquiry into the deadly P-36 disaster is expected.
