Jose Sergio Gabrielli, president of Brazil's state oil company Petrobras, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo November 7, 2011.
Jose Sergio Gabrielli, head of Brazil's state-controlled oil company Petrobras, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo last Nov. 7. Gabrielli, the man who oversaw the discovery of the largest oil find in the Americas in decades, apparently has been ousted as the company's CEO, local media reported on Saturday. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petrobras ousted CEO Jose Sergio Gabrielli, the man who oversaw the discovery of the largest oil find in the Americas in decades, local media reported on Saturday.

Gabrielli will be replaced by Maria das Graças Foster, a Petrobras executive close to Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, the GloboNews cable TV channel reported.

Foster is currently the head of Petrobras' gas and energy unit.

Gabrielli's replacement has been rumored for months, with talk of an expected cabinet reshuffle fueling speculation about his departure.

The Boston University-trained economist had been at the helm of Petrobras since 2005. During his stint, the company found the so-called subsalt region, the biggest oil find in the Americas in more than three decades.

He also guided Petrobras through the largest-ever share offering of some $70 billion late in 2010.

The federal government and state entities hold a combined 48 percent stake in the oil producer's capital, making them collectively Petrobras' largest shareholder.

Calls to the ministry of oil and energy, the presidency, and the company, whose headquarters are located in Rio de Janeiro, were not answered.

(Reporting by Leonardo Goy and Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Additional reporting by Jeb Blount in Rio de Janeiro; Editing by Xavier Briand)