Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE: PBR), or Petrobras, has confirmed the rumors that abounded on Tuesday. It turns out that CEO Grace Foster and five other top executives have resigned from Petrobras in the aftermath of its ongoing corruption scandal. While the board will consider replacements on Friday, what investors need to consider is whether Petrobras is any better off at all than before the executives quit.

As 24/7 Wall St. has always warned readers, Petrobras is not your normal oil giant — not by a long a shot. This is a state-run company, and its union is ranked much higher than its shareholders. Brazil mandates prices that Petrobras can charge to the public in Brazil. The nation can mandate that it sells oil under the global price for the greater good of the nation. It can also make it keep operating regardless of profitability. Petrobras simply does not operate on the same supply and demand forces of the global market pricing.

What is interesting about the stepping down of Foster is that she is said to be friends of Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff. That should have kept things better off for Petrobras, and much of the corruption issues so far were not tied to the management that is still in place or that has not yet been arrested.

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Petrobras could have been helped by the drop in oil because it could buy on the international markets for cheaper than its last sale price mandate was inside of Brazil. That being said, Brazil can dictate terms. So how good is it for Petrobras if the Brazilians decide that the current sub-$50 or near-$50 oil is here to stay? Now imagine if a new price mandate comes into play and oil rises rapidly. Petrobras would be forced to operate at crush-depth profit and loss levels all over again.

We saw just Tuesday that Fitch Ratings cut Petrobras’ ratings down to BBB- and left the oil giant on Credit Watch Negative. Certainly they knew that management, which has been on the chopping block for some time, might very well get the axe.

If the news that Petrobras was losing Foster and five more executives was so good, then perhaps Petrobras would have seen a follow-on rally from Tuesday’s sharp gains. Part of Tuesday’s gain was likely also tied to a recovery of oil back above $50 per barrel.

Petrobras shares were up 0.2% at $7.30 in midday trading on Wednesday. Its 52-week range is $5.79 to $20.94. Again, if this was such great news or really changed how investors will treat Petrobras, then the gains would have been greater.

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