Brazil has begun to buy more oil from Russia

Alexey Gromov, Principal Director on Energy studies of the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented to the Argumenty&Fakty newspaper on the growth of oil products supplies from Russia to Brazil according to the results of 2023.

"Brazil's recent increase in purchases of Russian petroleum products is due to the fact that their refining capacities cannot cope with the growth of domestic demand," Alexey Gromov said. — I would not consider this trend as a long-term one, because Brazil is actively working on creating its own oil refining industry. We should not expect a systematic increase in supplies from Russia. We can count on situational interaction when demand in Brazil will grow, and our country will be able to offer attractive conditions for purchase. The volume of supplies to Brazil in 2024 will be approximately at the level of 2023."

"The Middle East was the traditional supplier of petroleum products to the Brazilian market. Petroleum products from there are now mainly supplied to the European Union. Brazil is not ready to buy them at such high prices, while Russia offers a competitive price," the analyst noted. "This does not mean that Russia offers increased discounts on its energy resources, but the prices are definitely more profitable than those of the Middle East countries."