Brazil to increase oil production to help stabilize energy markets

Brazil is expected to increase oil production this year by around 300,000 barrels a day, which will lead to a 10% increase in national production, Mines and Energy Minister Bento Albuquerque said on Wednesday at the opening of the International Energy Agency (IEA) ministerial meeting in Paris.

According to Mr. Albuquerque, the increase in crude oil production will be Brazil’s contribution to the “stabilization of global energy markets,” directly affected by the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“This is the result of regulatory advances, modernization of the Brazilian energy market and consistent investments in the pre-salt layer,” the minister said, citing Brazil’s offshore reserves.

Two weeks ago, Valor reported that the Brazilian government had committed to the United States to expand oil and gas production as a way of helping to maintain regular supply in the world.

At Wednesday’s event, Mr. Albuquerque argued that “the energy transition must go hand in hand with energy security.” He said that Brazil has made a “significant leap” in clean and renewable sources, such as bioenergy, biofuels, solar and wind, in addition to energy efficiency.

The minister took the opportunity to talk about the launch of the Brazilian biomethane program earlier this week. According to him, the effort is in line with the commitment assumed by Brazil at COP-26, for being able to bring more energy security, reduction of CO2 emissions and replacement of fossil fuels.

“The consistency of our policies over time and stable and predictable regulatory frameworks have been crucial for the private sector to make the investment decisions necessary to increase the scale and speed of the energy transition in Brazil,” Mr. Albuquerque said.

The opening panel of the event was led by IEA’s executive director, Fatih Birol.

Source: Valor International

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