- BRICS has expanded from 5 member states to 11 with the new members strengthening the bloc’s security in global energy influence.
- It is estimated that the bloc will cover nearly 38.5 percent of the world’s GDP by 2028 and hold a vast amount of global resources.
BRICS has recently added 6 new member states to its bloc. The new member states are Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates. The bloc was initially made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Brics has now expanded to 11 countries. It is evident from the list of new countries that these are countries rich in global resources. They are major players in global oil production. interestingly, the bloc has received over 40 applications from countries seeking to join.
With their addition, the bloc has provided energy security to the alliance. Oil is a highly sought global resource with the potential to influence international affairs. It has played a role in the emergence of the U.S. as the world’s superpower.
Some executives believe that the sanctions imposed on Russia have played a role in deeper partnerships between BRICS member states. Russell Hardy, the CEO of energy trading firm Vitol, stated;
Looking at the oil markets today … the Western sanctions on Russia are working. They’re working in the sense that they’re creating less or lower revenues, lower invoice prices for Russian goods.
The flip side of sanctions is that it is creating stronger bonds between BRICS countries, which in turn is a sort of an opposite force, of polar opposites, to Western politics,
The G-7’s member states US and Canada produce 20 percent and 6 percent of the world’s oil, respectively, and Russia, Brazil, and China together account for 21 percent while Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Iran join the bloc, to reach around 41 percent of global production. In addition to oil, BRICS has also been hoarding gold that was initially believed would back a launching common currency. Recent data shows that BRICS member states hold around 5,493 tonnes of gold, compared to the G-7’s 17,527 tonnes.
BRICS further boasts of a population of 3.2 billion at present, to increase by at least 400 million with the addition of new members, higher than the G-7 combined population of 800 million.
According to a senior researcher, the addition of oil-rich countries will have geo-economic, geostrategic, and geopolitical implications. Fereidun Fesharaki, the chairman of energy consultancy Facts Global Energy, stated;
Everybody is irritated by the U.S. government, the U.S. Treasury sanctioning … So people say is there any way to create a counterforce, counterbalance to G7 or G20? BRICS is the candidate
In the last couple of years, middle east oil producers have been using flared natural gas to power Bitcoin mining rigs. Mubadala – the sovereign wealth fund (SWF) of Abu Dhabi – and the Oman Investment Authority (OIA) have invested in startups that are using wasted natural gas as a power source to mine Bitcoin. Russia has become the second-largest Bitcoin miner in 2023. As the bloc expands its reach and onboards more energy-rich countries this could drive Bitcoin mining to the regions. In the near future, the bloc might have an influence on the price of Bitcoin after mining the digital asset.
