Five Southern Cone countries form energy ring to integrate natural gas network

Countries in the Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR) have proposed an energy ring that would distribute natural gas through a gas line network that would connect five countries. The project is slated to be completed by 2007 and represents an effort to alleviate the shortages of natural gas that have been aggravating citizens and businesses in the region. Although Bolivia, the continent\u27s second-largest holder of natural gas reserves, is not currently included in the energy ring, the current government in La Paz has made efforts to keep future partnerships open

Bolivia: Corruption and errors in Petroleum contracts hinders nationalization of natural gas

Bolivian President Evo Morales has reacted angrily to revelations that there was corruption among members of his Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) in the setup of contracts to extract the country\u27s large natural-gas reserves. Legislators from the conservative opposition party Poder Democratico y Social (Podemos) have been raising significant criticisms regarding errors in natural-gas contracts arranged by the Morales administration. The controversy, which has bogged down the nationalization of Bolivia\u27s natural-gas resources, led to the firing of the head of the state petroleum company

BRAZILIAN SOCIETY ON OFFENSE AGAINST NUCLEAR PLANS OF PRESIDENT LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA

Various sectors of civil society began an offensive against the unexpected announcement by the government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva that it would resume expansion of its nuclear-energy program. Minister of Mines and Energy Edison Lobao, who made the announcement, said the government plans to construct between 50 and 60 new nuclear plants in Brazil in the next 50 years. Lobao made the announcement Sept. 12 at Angra dos Reis, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, at the site where the Lula administration wants to finish the country\u27s third nuclear plant

ECUADOR ORDERS OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION OUT OF THE COUNTRY FOR ILLEGAL SALE

In mid-May Ecuador\u27s government terminated Occidental Petroleum Corporation\u27s contract to exploit oil resources on one of the country\u27s most productive fields after a 19-month legal prosecution of the company for the unauthorized sale of an oil field. The US retaliated by suspending ongoing trade talks with the Andean country immediately after Energy Minister Ivan Rodriguez found against Los Angeles-based Occidental, also known as Oxy. The move followed an April vote in the Ecuadoran Congress that increased the royalties oil companies operating in Ecuador must pay. Ecuador\u27s termination of Oxy\u27s contract means the largest single corporate entity extracting petroleum there has been ousted, opening the possibility for greater involvement by nearby Venezuela or Brazil

BRAZIL: PROJECT TO REDIRECT RIO SAO FRANCISCO GETS LICENSE DESPITE ENVIRONMENTAL OBJECTIONS

The Brazilian government has obtained a license for a controversial project to redirect the flow of the Rio Sao Francisco in the northeastern part of the country. Environmental and religious activists have protested the project, worth billions of Brazilian reais, saying it could potentially kill the river, which runs principally through the states of Minas Gerais and Bahia to the Atlantic. The Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renovaveis (IBAMA) conceded a license to the government for the river-transposition project on March 23, although the license will not be the only hurdle the government must jump to begin the project

ECUADOR: GOVERNMENT HIKES ROYALTIES ON PETROLEUM COMPANIES, PRESSURES BANKS FOR LOWER INTEREST RATES

In the days immediately after his party\u27s overwhelming win in an election to name members of an assembly to rewrite the national Constitution (see NotiSur, 2007-10-12), Ecuador\u27s President Rafael Correa announced plans to heavily tax private companies extracting oil and pressured banks to reduce interest rates. The taxes on petroleum companies would take 99% of additional profits beyond the price of oil at the time the companies signed their contracts with the government. Correa also announced Ecuador\u27s intent to rejoin the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

BRAZIL STANDS FIRM ON INSPECTIONS, IAEA BACKS DOWN

Brazil appears to have won a months-long stare-down with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regarding full access to its nuclear-energy program. IAEA inspectors arrived at a Brazilian nuclear-development site on Oct. 19 with the understanding that they would be permitted to see less than they had been bargaining for. Putting a best face on the limitation, an agency spokesperson in Vienna said the inspectors would not need total access. The IAEA, in backing down, is treading a fine political line in giving Brazil some slack on much the same issue it is pressing Iran on. Brazil took the opportunity to emphasize its persuasive powers with official comments that the agency had become more flexible. Seeking to offset the statement, IAEA spokesperson Melissa Fleming said, We will not compromise on our fundamental technical requirements that will allow us to ensure there is no diversion of nuclear materials out of that plant

Bolivia gets Brazil to agree to pay higher prices for natural gas

Bolivian President Evo Morales has successfully negotiated a commitment from the Brazilian government to pay higher prices for the natural gas it imports from Bolivia. Negotiations had been a long-term strain between the two neighbors, with Brazil\u27s state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) seeking to maintain lower purchase rates as it bought Bolivia\u27s ample natural-gas resources. The announcement of the higher price helped Morales somewhat in domestic politics, with his administration\u27s party the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) facing corruption allegations and allegations of bungling negotiations of the gas-extraction contracts with foreign petroleum companies

PARAGUAY: HEAVILY INDEBTED AND UNDER INVESTIGATION, YACYRETA DAM STRUGGLES TO REACH CAPACITY

Debt- and corruption-ridden, the Yacyreta hydroelectric dam project between Paraguay and Argentina is running under capacity. To bring its water to the level where it would run at originally projected levels of production, however, would cause social and ecological destruction, say environmentalists. In the meantime, Paraguayan President Nicanor Duarte Frutos is seeking the investigation and prosecution of former heads of the project and trying to work with Argentine President Nestor Kirchner to get coherence regarding how the two countries will handle the dam\u27s massive debts

Regional governments promote renewable energy sources and integration projects for sustainable development

One of the early efforts to develop a coordinated strategy on renewable energy in Latin America and the Caribbean occurred in August 1996, when representatives from 34 countries in the region met in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to discuss this issue. The conference discussions were aimed at hammering out an agenda for the Summit of the Americas, which was scheduled for Bolivia Dec. 7-8, 1996. The summit was to focus on promoting clean and renewable energy sources as a basis for sustainable development in the region