Lula praises Amazon oil, suggests Brazil could supply crude if Hormuz closes

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva lauded the quality of oil discovered in the Foz do Amazonas, suggesting Brazil could offer oil supplies if the Strait of Hormuz were to close. "A country with oil of this quality will not allow anyone to interfere," Lula stated during a Petrobras ceremony, emphasizing national sovereignty. He drew parallels between this discovery and the 2007 pre-salt find, expressing similar excitement.

Lula also renewed his criticism of privatizations in the fuel sector, questioning the benefits of selling state assets like BR Distribuidora, now known as Vibra Energia. He expressed a desire to "buy back the refinery that they privatized." The president highlighted the importance of Petrobras's investment in research and development, contrasting it with the previous administration's approach of selling state assets.

During his visit to the Petrobras drillship in the Equatorial Margin, Lula donned the company's orange jumpsuit and even mimicked a gesture from 2008, getting his hands dirty with oil. Despite current contractual limitations preventing Petrobras from competing with Vibra Energia until 2029, discussions about potentially re-entering the fuel distribution market have been preliminarily acknowledged by government officials.