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The
group's surprising announcement on Thursday that the South
American nation would join it raised immediate questions on
whether Brazil would take part in the production caps, as OPEC+
nations agreed to voluntary cuts approaching 2 million barrels
per day (bpd) for early next year.
"There is no quota," Jean Paul Prates said in an interview. "We
would never be part of an organization that imposes (production)
quotas to Brazil, Petrobras is a publicly-traded company and we
cannot have quotas."
Brazil's energy minister said on Thursday the country was eager
to join OPEC+ after a full technical analysis. President Luiz
Inacio Lula da Silva's office confirmed receiving the invite,
but said he had not formally responded.
Brazil is the largest oil producer in South America, at 4.6
million barrels per day of oil and gas, of which 3.7 million bpd
are crude.
Prates, who in October received OPEC Secretary General Haitham
Al Ghais in Brazil, noted OPEC+ was a group that includes
countries with no voting rights and to which production caps are
not imposed, which would be the case of Brazil.
He welcomed Brazil's move to join the group.
"Brazil would start participating in the meetings as some kind
of observer member, which I think is really nice," Prates said,
adding the move would be key to OPEC's and Brazil's energy
transition efforts.
He expects Brazil to formally accept the invitation by June.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Writing by Gabriel Araujo;
Editing by Steven Grattan)
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