President Lula pledges to triple Brazil's oil output

Date added: 27th June, 2008 at 11:50 (view all articles from June, 2008)

Categories: Natural Resources

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said that he believes Brazil will be able to at least triple its oil production on the back of new offshore finds.

In an interview with Bloomberg the president claimed that the recent discoveries were "very promising" and that the revenue from the industry could be used to "develop the country" further.

Estimates from BP indicate that tripling Brazil's oil output would push the country into the world's top ten suppliers.

Interestingly, president Lula indicated that he would not be looking for Brazil to join the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).

"I want Brazil to export refined products," he explained. "I am under no illusion that Brazil will join Opec. I used to be, but am no longer."

During the interview, the president also said that new laws would mean that more of the profits from oil finds would be directed back into investment in Brazil.

He said: "It's a chance for poor Brazilians to use this money as opposed to having people with a lot of oil and three or four watches and a Rolex in their pockets.

"We want to take advantage of these riches to ensure that Brazil can take a great leap forward."

Recently, Newsweek reported that at least one economic expert has predicted that Brazil's state-controlled oil company Petrobras could become the world's most valuable firm in the coming years.

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