Lula: Equatorial Margin oil as a strategic reserve in case of crisis in the Strait of Hormuz

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the recent discovery of oil in the Equatorial Rim area, at the mouth of the Amazon River, could help supply the world market if the Strait of Hormuz remained closed due to the conflict between the United States and Iran. The statement came during a visit to a probe vessel of the state company Petrobras engaged in exploration activities off the coast of the state of Amapá.

“If President Donald Trump wants to go to war with Iran and close the Strait of Hormuz, we will open the Equatorial Rim here for the whole world,” Lula said in a video shown during the visit. During the ceremony, the president defined the presence of oil in the region as an element of "national sovereignty", underlining the strategic value of the new resources. “A country that has oil of this quality will not allow anyone to put their finger on it,” Lula declared.