Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva revealed on Friday, March 20th, that he offered Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum an alliance between the state-owned oil companies Petrobras and Pemex to explore for crude oil in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
The Brazilian leader stated, at an event to announce investments in the refining sector, that he called “Comrade Claudia” (as it is common among communists to call each other), at the request of Petrobras President Magda Chambriard, to discuss a possible partnership with Pemex, which is controlled by the Mexican state.
During the call, Lula said he reminded his American counterpart that she could “receive significant assistance” from Petrobras “to explore for oil together with Pemex at a depth of 2,500 meters in the Gulf of Mexico.”
Petrobras, controlled by the Brazilian state but with shares traded on the New York, Madrid, and São Paulo stock exchanges, has gained experience in deep-water hydrocarbon exploration, primarily since discovering the pre-salt offshore area.
This region is now Brazil’s main hydrocarbon production area and is located in very deep waters, beneath a two-kilometer-thick layer of salt, off the country’s southeastern coast.
Sheinbaum spoke by phone with Lula on March 9 and agreed to visit Brazil between June and July of this year.
In that call, according to the Brazilian Presidency, both leaders discussed “strengthening bilateral economic relations” and, in particular, expressed their interest in deepening bilateral ties in the energy sector.
Brazil and Mexico are the largest economies in Latin America and have significantly increased their high-level contacts since Sheinbaum took office in October 2014.
This rapprochement between the two Latin American powers has occurred amidst the trade war unleashed by US President Donald Trump, which has impacted both Mexico and Brazil.
Source: OEM
