Volume 2, issue #11 - 23-04-1997

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Venezuela and Brazil sign energy deal

Apr. 8, 1997 Venezuela will get a stronger foothold in Brazil's potentially vast electric power market with the signing of an agreement extending a transmission line across their border, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said.
The deal to link the northern city of Boa Vista with big hydro-electric plants in Southeast Venezuela has been signed in Boa Vista by Venezuelan President Rafael Caldera and his Brazilian counterpart Fernando Henrique Cardoso.
The 429-mile (686-km) line will provide 200 MW from December 1998 to Roraima state, according to an agreement reached in January between Venezuela's state-owned Electrificacion del Caroni CA (Edelca) and Brazil's Eletrobras.
In his third visit to Brazil since he took office three years ago, Caldera will also inaugurate a 600-mile (1,000-km) highway between Boa Vista and Manaus, thus allowing a direct road link between Venezuela and the booming capital of Amazonas state. Foreign Minister Miguel Burelli said the road would "strengthen the economic integration process between the two countries," with bilateral trade last year of $ 2.0 billion. Caldera and Cardoso are also expected to discuss possible oil joint ventures, Venezuelan government officials said. The two countries are considering buying or leasing a refinery in the region, possibly in the Caribbean.