South America’s largest oil producer, Brazil, will launch discussions on potentially joining OPEC in July, Brazilian Energy Minister Bento Albuquerque said.
In July, Albuquerque is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia, and on that occasion, Brazil could begin talks on becoming a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, the minister said.
Production in Brazil is rapidly growing thanks to start-ups of new offshore oil fields.
OPEC itself estimates that Brazil will be the second-largest contributor to non-OPEC supply growth in 2020, after the United States. Brazil, like the United States, is not part of the OPEC+ coalition that currently restricts production hoping to draw down global oversupply.
In November, Brazil’s crude oil production topped 3 million barrels per day for the first time ever, the National Petroleum Agency reported, adding that total oil and gas production rose to 3.95 million barrels of oil equivalent daily - also a record-breaking figure.
