Brazil is preparing for its entrance into the OPEC+ group of oil-producing countries in January of 2024, according to Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira, who spoke on Thursday.

OPEC+, led by Russia and Saudi Arabia, is made up of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, as well as allied nations, which leaves the organization responsible for roughly 40% of the world’s crude oil production.

The announcement of Brazil joining the alliance was made during an OPEC+ meeting regarding strategies for controlling output in 2024.

According to a video circulated by delegates, Silveira said, “President Lula [da Silva] confirmed our entry into the OPEC+ cooperation charter from January 2024.”

The entrance of Brazil into the alliance follows the entry of OPEC+ member nations Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the UAE into the BRICS group of major emerging economies, currently made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

This past summer, Brazil saw oil and gas production hit record volumes. It is currently on track to see its outputs soar by 75% by 2030, and it has accelerated its development of a rich reserve offshore which is trapped under a 2,000 meter thick bed of salt.

In the third quarter of 2023, Brazil exported 1.8 million barrels per day on average, which was a 40% increase over the amounts it produced in the third quarter of 2022, according to government data.

Unclear is whether Brazil will be required to immediately initiate production cuts with other members, the moment it enters the alliance.

This week the OPEC+ group agreed that starting next year, member nations together will be responsible for instituting a 700,000 barrel per day production cut on top of cuts which were already being performed, leading to a total output cut of 2.2 million barrels per day.