What Brazil could teach the US on oil and biofuel

by Alana Gandra

The Brazilian ambassador to the United States, Roberto Abdenur, affirmed on October 10 in a speech to the American Chamber of Commerce of Rio de Janeiro that Brazil's experience in the field of petroleum and natural gas could be helpful for the United States to reduce its energy dependence.
Abdenur emphasized that Petrobras -- Brazilian Petroleum -- has made successful use, in the Gulf of Mexico, as well, of offshore oil and gas drilling techniques developed in Brazil. And that the State enterprise anticipates a daily output of around 150,000 barrels in the United States, "part of which will be profit for us."

Abdenur affirmed that he thinks the United States must grasp the importance of ethanol as an energy source capable of reducing the petroleum bill, which "is currently a huge problem in the United States." This subject, he said, should be included in the bilateral agenda.
The trip planned by the Brazilian minister of Mines and Energy, Silas Rondeau, to Texas, in November, to participate in a seminar on natural gas, can strengthen understandings between the two countries in this field, the ambassador added.