UPDATE 1-Bolsonaro says would like to see Brazil an OPEC member

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Wednesday that he would like Brazil to join the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), a move that would add the most significant new producer to the oil cartel for years.

OPEC groups top exporter Saudi Arabia and 13 other countries and since 2017 has had a deal with several non-member producers, excluding Brazil, to limit supply and bolster prices. "I personally would very much like Brazil to become a member of OPEC," Bolsonaro said at an investment conference in Riyadh.

Brazil would be the most significant producer to join OPEC, founded in 1960, for years. Its current output would make it OPEC's third-largest producer, far above that of recent new OPEC members such as Congo and Equatorial Guinea. The Brazilian president said he would have to consult with his economy and energy ministers to ensure they could follow through if a decision was made.

Output has been rising rapidly in Brazil from offshore fields and production surged by 220,000 barrels per day (bpd) in August to a record 3.1 million bpd, according to the International Energy Agency. That would make Brazil the third-largest OPEC producer after Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

OPEC has seen a number of smaller producers leave and join the group in recent years. Ecuador is planning to exit in 2020, following Qatar which quit this year. Equatorial Guinea joined in 2017 and Congo became a member last year.

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