Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez arrived in Portugal Tuesday to meet with Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates and sign an important agreement on energy.
The Venezuelan president arrived in Lisbon after visiting Paris, where he met with French Chief of State Nicolas Sarzozy. Before that he visited Saudi Arabia and Iran.
During Chavez' stay in Lisbon an agreement will be signed for the supply of about 2 billion cubic meters of Venezuelan gas to Portugal, with price not released.
The agreement also includes creation of a joint company in the industrial complex Gran Mariscal Ayacucho in the state of Sucre between Galp-Energia (Portuguese) companies and PDVSA (Oil of Venezuela).
Another issue in the conversations between Chavez and Socrates will be the situation of the numerous Portuguese communities in Venezuela, mainly in the area of education and social security for them.
Portuguese Minister of Economy Manuel Pinho and State Secretaries Fernando Serrasqueiro (Commerce and Services) and Antonio Braga (Portuguese Communities) are participating in the talks.
Portugal has important investments in Venezuela in the sectors of tourism, telecommunications, construction and banking.
Via: Prensa Latina
Venezuela Helps With Portuguese Energy
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Tuesday his country would sell oil and gas to Portugal, which imports almost all of its energy.
"Venezuela wants to be a secure source of energy for Portugal," Chavez said during a brief stopover in Lisbon.
Chavez met with Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates and told reporters that Venezuela intended to start selling oil to Portugal and that Portuguese companies could join oil exploration activities in his country.
Venezuela may come to supply roughly one-third of Portugal's consumption of about 300,000 barrels of oil a day, he said.
"This is about expanding our strategic range, our presence in the world, in a country like Portugal that we hold in high esteem," Chavez said.
Portuguese oil and gas company Galp Energia said Tuesday it plans to buy natural gas from Venezuela and may help build a liquefaction plant there.
Galp said in a regulatory filing it intends to purchase up to 2 billion cubic meters (70.6 billion cubic feet) of liquefied natural gas annually from state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela. The price is still to be negotiated.
The two companies are also considering a joint venture at the Gran Mariscal Ayacucho industrial complex in Venezuela's Sucre state, where they may jointly build and operate a liquefied natural gas terminal, the statement said.
In October, the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to examine deals that Galp said could eventually supply up to 30 percent of Portugal's hydrocarbon consumption.
Via: Associated Press
Tags:
