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Venezuela and Brasil ratify joint strategies for hydrocarbons
Brazil presidet Lula Da Silva ( L) with Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez
Petroleumworld
CARACAS
Petroleumworld.com 12 12 06Last week the Minister of Energy and Petroleum and President of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), Rafael Ramírez, and his counterpart from Petrobras, José Sérgio Gabrielli de Azevedo, signed four documents for cooperation in the energy field. Through these agreements, the Venezuelan and Brazilian state oil companies consolidate joint projects in the Orinoco Oil Belt, as well as the development of businesses in the area of refineries.
Within the framework of the first visit to Brazil by the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, following his re-election on December 3rd, Ramírez explained that as well as signing the agreements, “we made a presentation of the joint projects, with special reference to the success of the certification of reserves in the Carabobo 1 block of the Orinoco Oil Belt, where we managed to incorporate 7 thousand million additional barrels to the 2 thousand million barrels in this area; this gives us an excellent perspective for developing and maintaining any joint plan.”
The agreements signed include a Memorandum of Understanding for the identification, conceptualization and definition of projects that permit both Venezuela and Brazil to undertake businesses in the areas of exploration, exploitation, production and improvement of heavy crude in the Orinoco Oil Belt.
At the same time, there were advances in the technical aspects of the construction of a heavy petroleum refinery on Brazilian territory, and its subsequent joint operation, with an orientation towards stimulating national goods and service industries.
An Addendum was also signed to extend the Joint Development Pre-Agreement between PDVSA and Petrobras for the Mariscal Sucre Project until March 31, 2007, in order to continue and deepen the respective evaluations.
The state oil companies of Venezuela and Brazil extended the length of the Letter of Intent for the Identification of Business Opportunities in the area of Hidrocarbons in block 5 of the Deltana Platform Project until March 31, 2007.
The extension of the length of these cooperation instruments “shows the firmness of the decision of the governments of both countries to develop and strengthen the petroleum industry, as the principal lever for the progress of our people, with a clear orientation toward energy complementation”, added the President of PDVSA.
After showing his satisfaction with the advances achieved to date in the projects, the Minister stated that the government leaders of both countries will instruct their respective foreign ministers to expedite the technical studies on the different options for supplying gas from Venezuela to Brazil, including analysis of the sections of the Great Southern Gas Pipeline.
Joint Plans to Strengthen National Industries
In addition, a Letter of Intent was signed in which Venezuela and Brazil increase by equal parts the participation of Venezuelan and Brazilian goods and services. To this end a working group will be formed to evaluate the demand for national inputs in each of the projects that the two nations are undertaking, in order to strengthen this aspect in accordance with the legislation in force.The creation and use of a census of suppliers for the joint projects is also foreseen. This will have a decisive effect on consolidation of the industries and on technological transfers between the two countries.
Petroleumworld News 12 12 06
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