Dubai
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) said this Sunday morning (3) in Dubai that the President of Petrobras, Jean Paul Prates, has a “very fertile” mind, “at Formula 1 pace”. He was referring to Prates’ announcement on Friday (1st) regarding the possibility of the Brazilian oil major opening a branch in the Middle East, Petrobras Arabia.
“First you should ask Jean Paul Prates this question. Because I was not informed that people here were going to make a Petrobras.” [no Oriente Médio]. “Since his mind is very fertile and he thinks at Formula 1 pace and I work at Volkswagen pace, I have to learn what he is going to do,” he said.
“Petrobras will not stop exploring for oil. This is important to remember. Because fossil fuels will continue to function in the global economy for a long time. But at the same time, Petrobras will transform not just into an oil company, but one that will take care of energy as a whole,” the president said.
“I talk to him [Prates]. “You gave me great information,” Lula concluded. The speech was in response to a question asked at the press conference that ended Lula’s participation in COP28 in the United Arab Emirates. After the interview he traveled to Germany.
As Prates told Bloomberg News on Friday (1), the stateowned company should begin investigating a subsidiary aimed at strengthening trade ties in the Persian Gulf region this month. “We will study the feasibility of establishing a wholly owned subsidiary in the Gulf region: Petrobras Arabia,” Prates said via text message.
Brazil produces more than 3 million barrels of oil per day, about the same as Iran and the United Arab Emirates, which are members of OPEC. And at this COP, the government announced that Brazil would join OPEC+, a group that includes the 13 OPEC countries plus 10 other nonvoting observer countries.
The president commented on the apparent nonsense of participating in an oil block in the spirit of the image of an environmental power propagated by the country. “Brazil will never be an effective member of OPEC because we don’t want it to be. What we want now is to have an impact,” he explained.
“The observer listens and gives his opinion. And why is it important that Brazil takes part? It is true that we need to reduce fossil fuels, but it is true that we need to create an alternative. So, before it ends, you must offer to give humanity an option. By participating in OPEC+, we are discussing with OPEC the need to invest some of its money to help poor countries on the African continent, Latin America and Asia.”
Another issue raised by the press was the current conflict situation between Guyana and Venezuela, which claims the territory of its neighbor.
“I spoke to the President of Guyana on the phone twice. Celso [Amorim, assessor especial da Presidência] was already in Venezuela to talk to him [Nicolas] Tires [ditador da Venezuela]. There is a referendum that will probably give what Maduro wants, because it is a call for people to expand what they understand as their territory. And he does not accept the agreement that Brazil has already accepted,” he said.
“There’s only one thing South America doesn’t need right now: confusion. If there is one thing we need to grow and improve the lives of our people, it is that we lower the bar and work with great willingness to improve the lives of our people and not constantly think about one Battle. Don’t keep making up stories. I hope common sense prevails on the side of Venezuela and Guyana.”
Regarding the agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, Lula said he already knew that France took a more protectionist position. During COP28, French President Emmanuel Macron said he was against negotiations.
“If there is no agreement, be patient. This wasn’t due to a lack of will. The only thing that needs to be clear is that they no longer say it’s in Brazil’s account and they no longer say it’s in the South’s account.” “America’s account,” he told Squid.
“Take responsibility for ensuring that rich countries do not want to enter into an agreement from the perspective of concessions. It’s always about winning more. And we want to be treated with the respect of independent countries. Let’s see how it will happen” on Friday [dia 8]. If there is no agreement, at least it will be clear who is responsible for the lack of agreement,” he concluded.
At the beginning of the interview, Lula recalled that the COP30 will take place in Belém do Pará. “I warned people so that no one could imagine that it would be possible to repeat a COP like this, with this luxury, this wealth. “It is possible to do this in another country, unless it is another Arab country or perhaps the Principality of Monaco,” he explained.
“But we will have a Brazilianstyle COP in an Amazon state, that will be the big news. If we don’t have the palace we have here to hold a meeting, we can hold it under the roof of a tree and discuss topics in a canoe on a stream. This will be our COP in Brazil in 2030.”