Brazil will be world’s fifth largest oil exporter in 2030 – Energy Minister

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil, which only began exporting more oil than it imported in 2019, will become the world’s fifth-largest exporter of crude oil in 2030 thanks to a sharp increase in its production, Brazilian Mines and Energy Minister Bento Albuquerque said Thursday.

“In 2030, when we reach a production of 5.3 million barrels of oil per day, Brazil will become the fifth largest exporter in the world,” Albuquerque asserted in an interview with a group of foreign correspondents.

The minister affirmed that Brazilian oil production would jump from 3.3 million barrels per day in 2021 to 5.3 million barrels per day in 2030 thanks to the deposits discovered in the pre-salt, a rich exploration horizon in very deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

With domestic oil consumption of 2.3 million barrels per day projected for 2030, Brazil, which is not a member of OPEC, will be able to direct the surplus of 3 million barrels per day to the international market, allowing it to jump from the current tenth place to fifth on the list of largest exporters.

“Brazil became in 2019 a liquid exporter of oil, and in 2020, despite the crisis generated by the pandemic, it was the only country that raised its crude oil exports and reached record external sales,” said the minister.

According to the data provided by the high official, Brazil currently exports about 1.4 million barrels per day, which last year also generated record revenues of 100 billion reais (about 20 billion dollars).

“Oil is already in third place among the products that generate the most resources for the Brazilian trade balance,” he said.

Albuquerque affirmed that Brazil is increasing its production and exports because, despite the measures adopted by many countries to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and the emissions of gases responsible for climate change, there is still a very high demand for crude oil in the world.

“I get asked a lot why Brazil wants to increase its production when the world wants to reduce consumption, but the truth is that the countries that are adopting measures to mitigate climate change are developed nations with few renewable sources of energy and still depend on fuels such as coal,” he said.

He added that Brazil is already one of the countries with the least polluting energy matrix globally and does not depend so much on oil.

“I do not doubt that in 30 years, Brazil will not be a major oil consumer, but it will be a major producer because world demand continues to grow. We are increasing exports because the world continues to demand,” he added.

The minister also said that the increase in Brazilian exports is also due to the high quality of the oil produced in the pre-salt, with low sulfur content, which further increases its demand.