March 2, 2005
Venezuela and Uruguay signed energy cooperation agreements

(PDVSA's Press release) - "With the intention to provide true social and economic development for the people of Latin America by making access to oil and gas resources more democratic and within the scope of integration and cooperation. The presidents of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez Frías, and Tabaré Vázquez, President of the Republic of Uruguay, signed the Montevideo Declaration regarding Petrosur. The Declaration provides the framework for the Integral Energy Cooperation Agreement and the Caracas Energy Cooperation Agreement, which were approved thereafter.

The signing of the cooperation agreements took place in the Uruguayan Government House's Cabinet Hall, and were among the first items of President Tabaré Vázquez's agenda immediately after his inauguration ceremony. Present among the guests at the signing ceremony were Rafael Ramírez Carreño, Venezuelan Energy and Petroleum Minister, as well as President of Petróleos de Venezuela, and the Uruguayan Energy and Mines MInister Jorge Lepra.

'The full potential of multiplying wealth for the benefit of the Latin American people's well-being prove the rightness of the Petrosur initiative proposed by President Hugo Chávez Frías. This was conceived as an strategic alliance between National Energy Companies with the objective of strengthening them further, turning them into more effective and efficient tools in achieving regional integration' expressed Minister Ramírez.

The Integral Energy Cooperation Agreement reasserts the aspiration of Venezuela in promoting bilateral cooperation based on the principles of equality, reciprocity and mutual benefit, as a means for countries to achieve the full sovereignty over their natural resources. Included in the cooperation areas covered were the development of studies, preparation and execution of joint oil and gas projects -both upstream and downstream- the strengthening of ties between the energy companies of both countries, and the evaluation of cooperation initiatives among the sectors linked to social development.

'The agreements entered by Venezuela and Uruguay underline the increasing political will among Latin America countries to consolidate the integration of our peoples and their development', Minister Rafael Ramírez pointed out. The integration of Latin America and the Caribbean will benefit a market of more than 530 million people. In terms of energy, more than 80% of the America's oil and gas reserves are to be found in Latin America.

Venezuela has enough hydrocarbon reserves to last another 285 years at the current rate of production. If the reserves of the rest of the countries in the region were to be added, they would account for 11.5% of the world's reserves. 'Besides, the strengths of our State-Owned National Energy Companies can also boost development in other areas, something made evident by PDVSA's example. Based on preliminary results, and dealing in financial terms alone, in 2004 the Corporation achieved a gross revenue of US$ 63 billion, which yielded a net income of $ 6.5 billion, according to Rafael Ramírez.

Earlier steps in the Petrosur initiative such as the recent one were ENARSA, Argentina's National Energy Company and PDVSA subsidiary INTERVEN Venezuela, gave rise to the founding of ENARSA / PDV, a joint venture which has already flagged its first service stations in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area. Even more recently, Petrobras, the Brazilian National Energy Corporation and PDVSA signed a total of 14 agreements covering oil, gas and petrochemicals, with the aim of strengthening complementary economic integration to back development social is Venezuela and Brazil.

'The struggle against poverty and ensuring an increasingly fairer quality-of-life levels are common goals for a Latin American and Caribbean nations, goals which can no longer be postponed. We are fully aware of the problems affecting the region inhabitants as regards access to energy. This is why we claim the sovereign right of our peoples to manage their own energy resources, and to promote integration and the sustainable development of our nations' Minister Ramírez Carreño underlined".