Petrobras Eyes Opening Mideast Unit to Strengthen OPEC+ Ties - Yahoo Finance

Petrobras Eyes Opening Mideast Unit to Strengthen OPEC+ Ties

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s state-controlled oil explorer is considering opening a Middle East unit as Latin America’s biggest crude producer prepares to join OPEC+’s cooperation charter.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Putin Seizes Rights to St. Petersburg Airport From Foreign Investors
Israel Says Hamas Violated Terms of Cease-Fire as Truce Lapses
Woman Discovers Over $86 Million Mistakenly Deposited in Her Bank Account
Banking Escapees Make Billions From Private Credit Boom
Exxon Among 50 Oil Producers in Controversial Climate Pact at COP28

Petrobras will begin formal analysis later this month on establishing a subsidiary intended to strengthen commercial ties in the Persian Gulf region, Chief Executive Officer Jean Paul Prates wrote in a text message to Bloomberg News on Friday.

Prates’ remarks come a day after Brazilian Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira told an OPEC+ gathering that the nation will join the charter in January. The charter is a platform for dialog that’s open to all oil-producing countries without binding them to output quotas.

“We’ll analyze the feasibility of establishing a wholly-owned subsidiary in the Gulf: Petrobras Arabia,” the CEO said in a text.

Brazil pumps more than 3 million barrels of crude daily, roughly equivalent to the output of OPEC+ members Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

Read More: Brazil to Join OPEC+ Alliance Charter in Non-Binding Move

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva has been strengthening ties with OPEC+ as part of his broader agenda of representing the developing world at large. Prates traveled to Vienna in July for an OPEC+ event and helped broker a visit to Brazil by the cartel’s Secretary General Haitham Al-Ghais in October for a meeting with Lula.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is formally known, will explore “mutually complementary ventures” with OPEC+ members both in the Persian Gulf and at home in Brazil, Prates wrote.

Petrobras already is studying the creation of a Chinese subsidiary as part of Prates’ plans for international expansion.

--With assistance from Peter Millard and Kate Seaman.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

Anduril Builds a Tiny, Reusable Fighter Jet That Blows Up Drones
No Laws Protect People From Deepfake Porn. These Victims Fought Back
Soaring Canadian Housing Costs Power a Population Boom in Alberta
Microsoft Is Happy Being the Co-Pilot on the OpenAI Rocket Ship
Wall Street Takes Fight Over Arcane Banking Rules to Main Street

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.