Brazil's Lula pitches Petrobras-Pemex partnership, signals plan to buy back refinery

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Friday he had proposed a partnership between state-run energy firms Petrobras of Brazil and Pemex of Mexico to explore oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

"Pemex could ‌get a ⁠great ⁠deal of help from Petrobras," Lula told an event, saying he ​had called Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to pitch the idea while highlighting ​Petrobras' long-established expertise in deepwater oil production.

Petrobras, Pemex and Sheinbaum's office did not immediately respond to requests for ​comment.


Petrobras operates in the Gulf through ⁠a joint ‌venture with Murphy Exploration & Production. Pemex has ​been trying ​to push ahead with complex Gulf projects, ⁠including the Lakach deepwater gas development, even as ​production from its older offshore fields continues to ​fall.

Lula also said Petrobras would seek to buy back a refinery in Bahia state that was sold to Abu Dhabi's sovereign fund Mubadala in 2021, under his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro.

"They sold the Bahia refinery; ‌we will buy it back. It may take a while, but we will," Lula said, ​referring to ​the Mataripe refinery, now ⁠controlled by Mubadala-owned Acelen.

Acelen directed a request for comment to Mubadala, which declined to respond.

The refinery, formerly known as ​Landulpho Alves, is one of Brazil's largest refineries and was the most emblematic refinery sale completed under Petrobras' previous divestment program.