MARIANNA PÁRRAGA
EL UNIVERSAL

Only five weeks have elapsed since Argentina, Bolivia and Venezuela in Buenos Aires initialed an accord to create the Organization of South American Gas Producing and Exporting Countries (Oppegasur), and the issue of gas is expected to remain at the center of debates at the South American Energy Summit opening Monday in the Island of Margarita, eastern Venezuela.

On the eve of the summit, on Sunday energy experts of the South American Community of Nations held a meeting.

While Brazilian and Venezuelan authorities have tried to dismiss the issue of ethanol -the fuel that ignited hot discussions among Venezuelan, Brazilian, Cuban and US Presidents Hugo Chávez, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Fidel Castro and George W. Bush- biofuels will also be addressed during the meeting, and are expected to be an interesting and sensitive topic.

Following an alliance between Brazil and the United States for joint production and distribution of ethanol, Chávez' Government has devised a counteroffensive, under which it is to develop gas for vehicles, and is even mulling over the possibility to return to intensive use of gasoline additives such as methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) that are produced in Venezuela.

However unavailability in the short term of enough production, infrastructure and expertise allowing widespread use of gas in the region -even though there are large unexploited reserves- is counteracting the interest most governments in the region have shown in designing agriculture and food plans aimed at using ethanol production both to overcome agriculture underdevelopment and stop dependence on expensive oil byproducts.

Surprise
On the eve of the summit, Venezuelan authorities published limited information on the central topic to be discussed at the summit, and have not even disclosed the names of the delegates attending the event.

Venezuelan Minister of Energy and Petroleum Rafael Ramírez explained that social development and environment would be top issues in the agenda, but the summit is expected to deal with a comprehensive agenda.

Ending March, following the first meeting of energy experts that served as preparation for the present summit in Venezuela, the Venezuelan Ministry of Energy and Petroleum said six committees were created to address the issues of oil, gas, biofuels, electricity, alternate energy sources and energy balance.

President Chávez can count on the Caracas Energy Agreement as a tool for integration. This accord has been joined by Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia, but there is still room for new countries buying oil byproducts at market prices to adhere to this mechanism.

Another key issue likely to be discussed is the Great Gas Pipeline of the South Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, and Bolivia are to build, President Chávez said on April 13, as well as the Antonio Ricaurte gas pipeline between Venezuela and Colombia.

Regarding downstream activities, oil refining is also likely to be on the spotlight, given the significant number of joint ventures Venezuela is planning together with neighbor countries, particularly when Mexico is concomitantly moving forward to build a refinery in Central America, with an integrationist view.

Venezuela's key project as to refining is a joint refinery Venezuelan and Brazilian oil state firms Pdvsa and Petrobras are building in Pernambuco, northwest Brazil. Petrobras is to drill heavy-crude oil from Orinoco strip, eastern Venezuela, to feed the Pernambuco refinery. Further, negotiations are under way between Pdvsa and Uruguayan state oil company Ancap to expand La Teja refinery, in Montevideo, and with Paraguayan state oil corporation Petropar to expand Villa Elisa refinery.

Beyond the energy issues -Bolivia is presenting a formal proposal to create an Energy Regulation Council-, the meeting the South American Presidents are holding could be a good time to overcome bilateral clashes, and some bilateral meetings parallel to the summit have been scheduled.

Translated by Maryflor Suárez R.
msuarez@eluniversal.com