The presidents of Bolivia, Venezuela and Argentina have signed joint energy deals worth more than 1 billion US dollar in Bolivia, news media reports Sunday.
At the end of a regional tour, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales and Argentinas leader Nestor Kirchner met in the southern Bolivian city of Tarija.
They signed an accord to create the Organization of Gas Producing and Exporting Countries of South America (Opegasur), which is aimed at consolidating their energy alliance.
Morales and Kirchner signed a 450 million dollar deal to build a gas-liquid separation plant in Tarijas Gran Chaco province near the Argentine border, which will be the biggest in South America.
President Chavez has pledged to use Venezuelas oil wealth to help guarantee the energy needs of his allies in Latin America. He has pushed energy integration through public investment throughout the tour.
Chavezs domestic opponents have criticized what they see as hand-outs of Venezuelan wealth for political gain. But Chavez says that the deals signed during his trip will bring mutual benefit to the countries involved.
Venezuela will provide oil and gas for all countries in the region for a century, Chavez told the third energy summit of Caribbean member states of the Petrocaribe agreement, which was held in Caracas on Saturday…
Chavez noted that he mulls over (spekulerer på) a possibility of building a gas pipeline along the bed of the Caribbean Sea. Chavez suggested calling Petrocaribe summits every six months and holding the next meeting in Nicaragua.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
