BRASILIA, April 7 (Reuters) - President Luiz Inacio Lula

da Silva called a meeting on Sunday evening with three cabinet

ministers that could decide on whether to replace the chief

executive of Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras

Jean Paul Prates, two sources told Reuters.

The ministers of Finance, Fernando Haddad, of Mines and

Energy, Alexandre Silveira, and Lula's chief of staff, Rui

Costa, were summoned to the meeting at the presidential

residence, the Alvorada Palace, according to the sources who

asked to remain anonymous.

The meeting takes place after a week of speculation that

Prates would be replaced. On Thursday, government sources said

the resignation of the Petrobras chief executive was likely in

the coming days.

One of the sources told Reuters on Sunday that Prates would

not survive "to the end of the week."

The president of Brazil's National Development Bank (BNDES),

Aloizio Mercadante, a close aide to Lula, has been named as a

possible candidate to take over from Prates.

Uncertainty about the future of Petrobras brought volatility

to the company's shares prices in recent sessions.

Prates has been under fire from parts of the government that

want to see him bring down fuel prices and ramp up job-creating

investments. Last month, he clashed with cabinet members over a

Petrobras dividend withheld from investors.