President Lula Offers Petrobras-PEMEX Alliance for Gulf of Mexico Exploration

ByMexico Solidarity

This article originally appeared in the March 21, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced that he proposed to his Mexican counterpart, Claudia Sheinbaum, a strategic alliance between Petrobras and Pemex for oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico.

“Compañera Claudia, (…) Did you know that PEMEX could receive significant assistance from Petrobras to explore for oil in the Gulf of Mexico?” the president said during an event in Minas Gerais, referring to the phone call in which he raised the initiative. He highlighted the Brazilian company’s experience in deep-water production.

The Mexican government has not yet taken a position on the proposal. Brazil reached a record oil production in 2025, according to the National Agency of Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels, with exports totaling $44.6 billion.

Lula indicated that Petrobras will seek to repurchase the Mataripe refinery in Bahia, which was sold in 2021 during Jair Bolsonaro’s presidency. “It may take some time, but we will do it,” he affirmed.

Pemex projects a 34 percent increase in investments compared to 2025, with an emphasis on marine projects such as Trión, Sama and Maloob, in order to reach a production of 1.8 million barrels per day.

La Jornada contacted PEMEX regarding this proposal, but the company indicated that it would not comment at this time. Mexico’s Energy Secretariat did not respond to the request for information; neither did Petrobras nor the Brazilian energy company Acelen.