29-09-05
Brasilia and Venezuela signed in Brasilia an agreement on jointly building an oil refinery with a total investment of $ 2.5 bn.
Chief executives of Venezuela's state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela
and Brazil's government oil company Petrobras signed the agreement with the
presence of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his Brazilian counterpart Luis
Inacio Lula da Silva. Financing of the complex will be equally split between the
two companies and the refinery will be ready to operate in 44 months.
The refinery, to be built in the north-eastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco,
is to process up to 200,000 barrels of heavy oil daily.
The signing of the agreement was "an important step" toward the integration of
South American countries, said Lula.
Chavez, who is attending the first summit of the South American Community of
Nations (CSN), said the agreement demonstrated Venezuela and Brasilia are taking
concrete actions to realize the integration of the South American continent.
Foreign ministers of the CSN met to make last preparations for the summit,
which is to kick off.
The CSN, which was built in December 2004, consists of 12 countries, including
five Andean Community countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and
Venezuela and four Common Market of the South nations of Argentina, Brazil,
Uruguay and Paraguay, as well as Chile, Surinam and Guyana.
Source: Xinhua