Johannesburg - A new fuel price paradigm is on the horizon as the number of oil-producing countries that will be part of the BRICS nations in the new year is set to increase to six.
The announcement was made by President Cyril Ramaphosa during the last sitting of the 15th BRICS Summit, which took place at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.
Speaking on the group's expansion endeavours, Ramaphosa said the BRICS nations had extended an invitation to countries including Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to this effect.
Saudi Arabia, Iran and the UAE are known as key members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).
Argentina, Egypt and Ethiopia will also be admitted to the BRICS group as it seeks to increase the geopolitical influence of countries in the global south on the world stage.
Other key players in the oil race are Russia, China and Brazil.
"We have decided to invite the Argentina Republic, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the Republic of Iran, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to become full members of BRICS."
Ramaphosa added: "As a five BRICS countries, we have reached an agreement on the guiding principles, standards, criteria, and procedures of the BRICS expansion process, which has been in discussion for quite a while. We have consensus on the first phase of this expansion process, and other phases will follow."
According to the president, the membership would take effect on January 1, 2024.
Although not part of the BRICS nations as yet, Nigeria had, as of May, regained its position as Africa’s largest crude oil producer, according to data from Opec.
Opec reported that crude oil output increased mainly in Nigeria, Iran and Angola, while production in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait declined.
This comes as Nigeria reportedly recorded 1.184 million barrels per day (BPD) of crude production in May, up from 999,000 barrels recorded in April, while Angola’s output rose to 1.111 million barrels per day from 1.06 million recorded in April, according to the oil cartel’s direct communication data.
Leaders of the current BRICS nations, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, gathered for three days this week in Johannesburg, where expanding membership in the BRICS headlined numerous discussions.
This is especially true as China and Russia have framed the BRICS as a counterweight to a Western-led hegemonic order and have pushed to bulk up their ranks.
The Star