Brazilian state oil company Petrobras is in talks with oil companies from China, India and the Middle East to collaborate on energy projects.
The company is talking to Kuwait Petroleum and Qatar Energy, while also interested in working with neighbouring Venezuela, CEO Jean Paul Prates told Reuters on the sidelines of the India Energy Week event in Goa.
“We have two groups of Asian countries with which we are interacting a lot at the moment and we are building relations at this time — Gulf countries, India and China,” he said.
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“We will meet with Kuwait Petroleum,” Prates said, adding that he plans to discuss the reform and modernization of Brazilian refineries, petrochemical projects, fertilizers and energy transition.
Petrobras is also seeking to work with Qatar on liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, possibly in West Africa or Brazil, he said.
“The Atlantic is our preferred operating environment. That means West Africa, Brazil, Guyana and the Equatorial Bank. These are the areas we will focus on,” he added.
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Prates said Petrobras has also formed task forces with Indian Oil and Natural Gas Corp and refinery Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd to analyse projects in Brazil and abroad, in refining and renewable energies. Indian companies already own shares in Brazilian oil and gas blocks.
“We will reorganize the relationship in view of this new administration of Petrobras,” said Prates, who took over the post of CEO a year ago, after being chosen by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Petrobras is also exploring opportunities with Venezuela. “We are analysing the conditions of Venezuela at any time in the future, because they are more open to discussions with all companies. We are observing the situation of the sanctions, which have been eased,” he said.
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