Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina and UAE will officially join the group in Jan 2024
– 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.
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. Prior to the expansion, the bloc accounted for around 19pc of the world oil production, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration for 2022. The EIA’s data shows the addition will increase BRICS crude oil production to about 41pc of the global output.