Petroamerica idea gets mixed reactions

Brazilian foreign minister Luiz Felipe Lampreia said in Venezuela it would be a bad idea for Petrobras and Venezuelan PDVSA to merge into one company known as Petroamerica. Meanwhile, PDVSA President Hector Ciavaldini said Petroamerica does not necessarily need to involve the merger of both companies.
"It is an excessively ambitious concept, and I don't think it is desirable to think that our companies will fuse into Petroamerica. It is better to think about technical cooperation," Lampreia said. He stressed the need for technical cooperation between the 2 mammoth state-owned oil companies, especially in exploration and marketing.

Ciavaldini, who has pushed for more energy integration with Brazil, said the idea of Petroamerica does not need to involve merging the 2 companies, but could work towards building on cooperation. He also said Venezuela hopes to boost crude exports to Brazil and sell asphalt and natural gas to northern Brazil.
Venezuela and Brazil last year signed a letter of intent to integrate their oil companies under the name Petroamerica. Brazilian President Henrique Cardoso will be in Venezuela on an official visit.