Chavez
denies ‘ethanol war’ divides Venezuela,
Brazil
Trinidad Guardian
Port
Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
04 22 07
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez denied that Latin
American leaders are at an impasse over conflicting
Venezuelan and Brazilian goals for supplementing
oil production with ethanol output in the region.
“The press is saying there’s an ethanol
war,” Chavez said at the first South American
Energy Summit in Porlamar, Venezuela. “No.
Ethanol is a valid strategy as long as it doesn’t
affect food production.”
Chavez called for the construction of 13 new Latin
American oil refineries to slash reliance on US
plants, suggesting that ethanol factories be built
next door to boost output of hybrid gasoline, rather
than ethanol alone.
Chavez has dismissed an ethanol
accord signed last month by President George
W Bush and Brazilian
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as “craziness” destined
to misdirect agricultural resources.
Ministers from 11 nations debated
regional biofuel goals for 11 straight hours
at the summit. One
point of contention is Brazil’s agreement
last month with the US to boost energy supplies
by lifting output of ethanol derived from sugarcane.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
has said the deal will tighten the US grip on
Latin America’s
resources and that mass output of biofuels will
drain food supplies and increase poverty.
On Tuesday Chavez invited governments
from the 11 nations to form joint ventures in
Venezuela’s
heavy-crude rich Orinoco Belt region, where his
administration is pushing out private, foreign
stakeholders in favour of state-run joint enterprises.
Venezuela is the world’s eighth largest
exporter of crude; Brazil is the world’s
largest exporter of ethanol.
(Bloomberg)
Trinidad
Guardian
Thursday 19th April, 2007
Copyright
©2007 Trinidad Guardian. All Rights Reserved.
