São Paulo – Oil company Petrobras, which regularly buys crude oil from the Arab world, did not import the product from the region in January. Figures disclosed in the electronic system of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade show that throughout last year, purchases of crude oil were no lower than US$ 145 million each month, but in the first month of this year this did not take place.
When addressed, Petrobras said it does not speak about the matter, as it is strategic. In December last year, Brazilian purchases of Arab crude oil reached US$ 232.2 million, all from Saudi Arabia. With the absence of the product in the trade basket, purchases as a whole from the region dropped from US$ 590 million in December to US$ 327 million in January, a reduction of 35%. There was, however, purchase of oil products.
Adriano Pires, director of consultancy company Brazilian Infrastructure Centre, has no explanation for the lower imports of the Arab product, but recalled that Brazil is buying less oil as a whole. "Our production is rising. In 2010 we imported more Diesel, more petrol and more aircraft fuel than oil," he said. And, according to him, this tendency should continue with lower oil imports.
When Brazil also starts consuming oil from the pre-salt layers, lighter than that traditionally produced in the country, purchases of crude oil should drop even further. Light oil is what the country imports most from the Arabs. "But production of pre-salt oil should only come with greater strength in 2014," recalled Pires. Until refineries under development in Brazil are ready, the import of oil products should continue rising due to the great demand.
In fact, in January, there was reduction in imports of crude oil as a whole, US$ 775.7 million in December to US$ 626.8 million, a reduction of 23%. Three countries that had sold the product to Brazil in December did not do the same in January: Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Equatorial Guinea. The suppliers who were not in the list in the month but entered, in turn, were Angola, with US$ 86 million, and the Congo, with US$ 90 million.
*Translated by Mark Ament
