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Due to the war, the world is watching pre-salt oil: Can Brazil take Russia's place as a supplier of oil from our reserves to the world through Petrobras?

Written by Junior Aguiar
Published 11/03/2022 às 05:31
Updated 13/03/2022 às 10:00
Due to the war, the world is watching pre-salt oil: Can Brazil take Russia's place as a supplier of oil from our reserves to the world through Petrobras?
Brazil is on the radar of major international powers for oil supply | Image: Agência Brasil via Google

Several countries are looking for new oil suppliers and Petrobras is on the radar, which could speed up exports.

Petrobras Oil exports may be accelerated as an indirect consequence of the war between Russia and Ukraine. This is because several countries are no longer importing oil from the Russians. Thus, Brazil starts to enter the international radar more strongly, not least because the quality of the product coming from the pre-salt is considered of excellent quality because it has a low sulfur content.

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The information that is already circulating is that inquiries about the price of a barrel of oil produced by Petrobras have grown. With this, the state-owned company increases the range of new markets and Brazil becomes a powerful representative of this diversification of suppliers.

The pre-salt represents more than 75% of the national oil production. Petrobras does not usually sell directly to countries, but only to oil refiners. What is said is that the oil surplus that Petrobras will be able to export is around half a million barrels per day.

Conflict between Russia and Ukraine may boost demand for Brazilian oil – Source: JP News

The United States and European nations such as the United Kingdom, which together account for 15% of shipments, have already announced that they will no longer buy oil from the Russians. Thus, Brazil presents itself as an option to meet the global demand.

Russia is the second largest oil supplier in the world. However, due to the invasion of Ukraine, the Russians have suffered from various economic sanctions and breaches of international agreements. And even if the end of sanctions happens, Russia should no longer be seen with favor in world diplomacy, with difficulties in negotiations for a long time.

China is the largest importer of barrels of oil from the Brazilian pre-salt layer. The Chinese account for 38% of shipments, followed by all of Latin America with 23%.

Allies, China may increase oil imports from Russia. What does Brazil have to do with this?

The prospect of increased international interest in Brazilian oil is positive, however Petrobras needs to analyze the direction of the economic market in the East, due to the war in Eastern Europe. There is still a possibility that the Chinese will start buying more oil from the Russians.

Therefore, all possible scenarios need to be taken into account before any move or action by the state-owned company. Meanwhile, oil prices fluctuate and the war shows no signs of ending.

This Thursday (10), the value of a barrel of the product reached USD 115, putting pressure on the state-owned company, which has already announced readjustments that result in an increase of 18,8% for gasoline and 24,9% for diesel.

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Junior Aguiar

Journalist, graduated from the Catholic University of Pernambuco | Web content producer, analyst, strategist and communication enthusiast.

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