Fact Check: BRICS expansion will not control 80pc of world oil production

Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina and UAE will officially join the group in Jan 2024

(Reuters Fact Check) – The BRICS bloc of emerging economies will not control 80 per cent of world oil production after an expansion that was agreed upon in August 2023, contrary to posts on social media. Estimates from energy authorities find the figure would be under 50pc.

Examples of the claims are available on Facebook and messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter. The posts read, in part, “New composition of BRICS will control 80pc of world oil production. With the addition of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran to the BRICS, the Union will be able to control the lion's share of the world's oil production.”

The BRICS bloc of countries is made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Reuters reported in August 2023 that Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates will officially join the group in January 2024.

Although the expansion adds top oil producers, like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, the new figure for their collective output is not as high as social media posts claim.

Prior to the expansion, the bloc accounted for around 19pc of the world oil production, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) for 2022. The EIA’s data shows the addition will increase BRICS crude oil production to about 41pc of the global output.

Data from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for 2022, places the expanded bloc’s production at 34.67 million barrels per day. This equates to approximately 47pc of global crude oil production.

Figures from 2022 released by the Energy Institute, a membership body, based in London, for people working in the energy world, indicate that the 11 countries that will form BRICS produce 40.45 million barrels per day, equivalent to 43pc of the global total.

According to EIA data for 2022, the top 10 world oil producers are the United States (21pc share of world total), Saudi Arabia (13pc), Russia (10pc), Canada (6pc), Iraq (5pc), China (5pc), UAE (4pc), Iran (4pc), Brazil (3pc) and Kuwait (3pc).

VERDICT

False. BRICS will not control 80pc of the oil production worldwide after its expansion.