04-09-08 Brazilian Energy Minister Edson Lobao said his country has rejected an Iranian invitation to join OPEC, the oil producers' organisation.
"I received the ambassador of Iran, and he invited Brazil to become part of OPEC. It wasn't a suggestion but a formal invitation," he told.

Lobao said that he had informed the Iranian ambassador Moshen Shaterzadeh that Brazil "does not envisage that possibility" right now and added that there were no discussions on the subject within the Brazilian government.
The Iranian invitation follows a recent announcement by Brazil's National Petroleum Agency that it had discovered a massive oil field off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, which could contain up to 33 bn barrels.