Brazil’s Crude Exports Surge with Notable Increase in Mero Grade

Crude Quality Matters!

Amid fears of another energy crisis due to a lack of upstream investment, augmented by the war in Ukraine, Brazil is emerging as a key producer of additional crude barrels for the global market. But this comes with challenges related to the country's energy policies and future financing of fossil fuels.  In this commentary, we look at Brazil's oil production and how exports of Brazilian crude have been influenced by Western sanctions on Russia and crude quality.

Brazil’s crude oil exports averaged 1.63 million barrels per day (mb/d) during the first five months of 2023, based on Kpler’s data, a jump from 1.31 mb/d for the same period last year, as shown in Figure (1) below. Crude exports have been on the rise since last fall. In October, exports hit 1.81 mb/d, the highest we have seen in the selected period starting at January 2020. Despite the introduction of a temporary oil export tax in March, exports don’t appear to have been affected by this measure, at least for now.

Crude Quality Matters