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Petrobras, PDVSA weigh new JVs for natural gas, oil, ethanol
PDVSA
Petrobras CEO Jose Gabrielli (left) and PDVSA President amd Venezuela's oil minister Rafael Ramirez
PLATTS
RIO DE JANEIRO
Petroleumworld.com 08 21 06Brazil's state-led Petrobras Friday said it was studying new joint
ventures with Venezuela's state PDVSA in natural gas, oil and ethanol, and
that it aims to sign contracts for the deals shortly.At a meeting Thursday in Caracas between Petrobras CEO Jose Gabrielli and
PDVSA President Rafael Ramirez, PDVSA granted Petrobras two months for
economic analysis of the Mariscal Sucre gas project offshore northern
Venezuela, according to a Petrobras statement. When the period is up,
Petrobras is to make a final decision whether to develop the reserves with
PDVSA, in a joint-venture worth as much as $5 billion, the statement
continued. Petrobras said earlier it was interested in building a liquefied
natural gas terminal at Mariscal Sucre that could supply Brazil with gas.In its statement, Petrobras also said it is studying the formation of
joint-venture company with PDVSA that would tap five Venezuelan mature fields.
The fields weren't named in the Petrobras statement. Petrobras said technical
analysis of the areas by teams from both companies are advancing.Petrobras and PDVSA also agreed to continue engineering and
environmental impact studies on a joint refinery they plan to build in
Pernambuco, northeast Brazil, Petrobras said. The refinery, to process both
Venezuelan and Brazilian crude, will cost around $2.8 billion, Petrobras said.
It is slated to start operations around 2012, with processing capacity of
200,000 b/d.Petrobras also agreed to continue work with PDVSA at the Carabobo I block
in Venezuela's Orinoco Basin, where the companies are carrying out surveys to
quantify extra-heavy oil reserves there. PDVSA said earlier that Carabobo I
could be developed into a high-volume commercial oil field.Finally, Petrobras said it will sign a long-term supply contract with
PDVSA for Brazilian shipments of sugarcane-based ethanol to Venezuela, where
it will be used as a gasoline additive while Venezuela develops its own
ethanol industry. Details of that supply deal weren't provided.For more news, request a free trial to Platts Oilgram News at
http://oilgramnews.platts.com or subscribe now at
http://www.platts.com/infostore/product_info.php?cPath=1_29&products_id=29
PLATTS 18 08 06
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