Petrobras Has a New head

The Brazilian government appointed financial executive Jose Sergio Gabrielli as a head of the state oil firm Petrobras on Monday.

Gabrielli, the former Petrobras CFO, is to replace Jose Eduardo Dutra, who is stepping down to run for the Senate in 2006.

Petrobras is among the world's 15 biggest oil companies, with the capacity of 2 million bpd. Created in 1953, Petrobras had a monopoly on oil production until 1997, when the government opened the field to foreign investment.