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Chavez talks energy with Lula in Brazil
AFP
BRASILIA
Petroleumworld.com 12 08 06
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, fresh from his reelection win, was on tour in South America on Thursday discussing huge energy integration projects in Brazil.
A gun salute and cavalry show for Chavez were the order of the day as Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva welcomed Chavez to the presidential palace.
Chavez was travelling with seven ministers including Energy and Oil Minister and PDVSA chief Rafael Ramirez. Mining and light industry officials also were with the Venezuelan leader.
The presidents were to discuss work that would involve state oil giant PDVSA and its neighbor's equivalent Petrobras. One is the Gas Pipeline of the South, a controversial more-than-20-billion dollar pipeline that would carry Venezuelan gas all the way to Argentina, Brazilian diplomats said.
Also at issue is refining Venezuelan oil at a refinery in Brazil's Pernambuco state. The two discussed it a year ago but little progress has been made. The project would require at least 2.5 billion dollars in capital investment.
PDVSA and Petrobras also will discuss joint prospecting for oil and gas in Venezuela.
Both Lula and Chavez were just reelected with comfortable mandates, Chavez this week and Lula in October.
Chavez was later to travel on to Argentina, Uruguay and then Bolivia for a Community of South American Nations meeting.
Venezuela this year also joined Mercosur, but the terms of its integration have yet to be ironed out completely. Mercosur groups Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay in a customs union aiming for eventual free trade.
AFP 071558 GMT 12 06
Copyright© 2001 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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