Brazil catching up to the United Arab Emirates

Oct 03, 2019

Brazil extracted 2.989 million bopd in August, up 7.7% over July and 18.5% over the same period in 2018, according to the new ANP production bulletin. The volume is close to that produced by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – the third largest among OPEC countries, behind Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

According to the latest monthly report published by the cartel, the UAE produced 3.065 million bopd in August. If the Arab nation maintains its current level, the 66,000 bopd gap could be overcome later this year, with the ramp-up of the P-76 and P-77 FPSOs in Buzios, and the start-up of the P-68 platform in the Berbigão field.

Brazil had already surpassed Kuwait in July, when it produced 2.775 million bopd – the country’s previous record, according to the ANP. That month, the total production of the Arab nation was 2.709 million bopd.

OPEC does not detail oil production by country outside the cartel. In the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) global ranking – updated in April this year – Brazil ranks ninth, with 3.43 million bopd, just behind the UAE (3.79 million bopd) and ahead of Kuwait (2.87 million bopd). The calculation considers crude oil, all petroleum liquids and biofuels.

Ranking of the world’s largest oil producers updated April 2019 by EIA

Under normal conditions, Iran would be the third largest oil producer among OPEC countries. However, due to US sanctions, extraction in the country fell from more than 3.8 million bopd in 2017 to less than 2.2 million bopd in August this year, according to secondary sources accessed by OPEC.

Source: Brasil Energia Magazine