Petrobras reaffirms its biofuels and energy partnership in Mozambique
Executives of Brazil's state-owned oil company Petrobras have visited Mozambique to reaffirm their commitment to cooperate with the country on energy and biofuels. International Area director, Nestor Cervero, and executive manager for Business Development, Luis Carlos Moreira da Silva, were received, last week, by Mozambican President Armando Emílio Guebuza. The courtesy visit reiterates Petrobras' willingness to work jointly with Mozambican companies in oil and gas prospecting and in the biofuel area.
The executives visited Mozambique's Ministry of Energy and its National Oil Company. During the meeting, the possible partnership between Petrobras and Petromoc, the Mozambican company equivalent to Petrobras Distribuidora in Brazil, was reaffirmed. The idea is to operate in the Mozambican biofuel market and, possibly, in fuel exports.
President Guebuza is expected to visit Brazil next September, when he will meet his Brazilian counterpart, president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Petrobras' president José Sergio Gabrielli de Azevedo, to sign an agreement between the two governments in the energy area.
Petrobras is already in business in Mozambique with the Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH), that country's national oil company, since last year. A memorandum of understandings was signed on that occasion for oil and natural gas exploration and for biofuel research and production in Mozambican territory (earlier post). The company also has a partnership with Petronas, from Malaysia, to work in an exploration block in the mouth of River Zambezi, in Mozambique.
Mozambique is receiving considerable interest from biofuel investors, because of its stable economy, attractive investment climate and above all, its major technical biofuel production potential:
energy :: sustainability :: ethanol :: biodiesel :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: Brazil :: Mozambique ::
Experts working for the International Energy Agency estimate that Mozambique alone can produce nearly 7 Exajoules worth of liquid biofuels for exports, without threatening food supplies for its rapidly growing population or biodiversity and protected conservation areas (more here).
This amount is roughly equal to a production of 3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (and given its renewability, this 'green reserve' lasts for decades). In order to actualise the potential, the country does need an influx of investments in agronomic knowledge and skills, logistical infrastructures and biofuel production plants. On all these fronts, the Lusophone world is offering assistance, either trilaterally or bilaterally, in purely private or in public-private ventures.
Mozambique's Minister of Energy, Salvador Namburete, has frequently pointed out that the country vast potential to cultivate first generation biofuels based on oilseed, sugar and starch crops in an initial phase, whereas when technologies mature, it can become a major producer of biomass.
Besides investors from Brazil, several initiatives from Europe, India and China have been launched in the country's biofuels sector (earlier post and here). Amongst them is a typical South-North-South exchange which sees Italy and Brazil cooperating on biofuels in Mozambique.
References:
Petrobras: Petrobras reaffirms its partnership in Mozambique - August 8, 2007.
Biopact: Mozambique-India partnership: biofuels for poverty alleviation - July 03, 2007
Biopact: Lusophone world and China join forces to produce biofuels in Mozambique - May 19, 2007
The executives visited Mozambique's Ministry of Energy and its National Oil Company. During the meeting, the possible partnership between Petrobras and Petromoc, the Mozambican company equivalent to Petrobras Distribuidora in Brazil, was reaffirmed. The idea is to operate in the Mozambican biofuel market and, possibly, in fuel exports.
President Guebuza is expected to visit Brazil next September, when he will meet his Brazilian counterpart, president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Petrobras' president José Sergio Gabrielli de Azevedo, to sign an agreement between the two governments in the energy area.
Petrobras is already in business in Mozambique with the Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH), that country's national oil company, since last year. A memorandum of understandings was signed on that occasion for oil and natural gas exploration and for biofuel research and production in Mozambican territory (earlier post). The company also has a partnership with Petronas, from Malaysia, to work in an exploration block in the mouth of River Zambezi, in Mozambique.
Mozambique is receiving considerable interest from biofuel investors, because of its stable economy, attractive investment climate and above all, its major technical biofuel production potential:
energy :: sustainability :: ethanol :: biodiesel :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: Brazil :: Mozambique ::
Experts working for the International Energy Agency estimate that Mozambique alone can produce nearly 7 Exajoules worth of liquid biofuels for exports, without threatening food supplies for its rapidly growing population or biodiversity and protected conservation areas (more here).
This amount is roughly equal to a production of 3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (and given its renewability, this 'green reserve' lasts for decades). In order to actualise the potential, the country does need an influx of investments in agronomic knowledge and skills, logistical infrastructures and biofuel production plants. On all these fronts, the Lusophone world is offering assistance, either trilaterally or bilaterally, in purely private or in public-private ventures.
Mozambique's Minister of Energy, Salvador Namburete, has frequently pointed out that the country vast potential to cultivate first generation biofuels based on oilseed, sugar and starch crops in an initial phase, whereas when technologies mature, it can become a major producer of biomass.
Besides investors from Brazil, several initiatives from Europe, India and China have been launched in the country's biofuels sector (earlier post and here). Amongst them is a typical South-North-South exchange which sees Italy and Brazil cooperating on biofuels in Mozambique.
References:
Petrobras: Petrobras reaffirms its partnership in Mozambique - August 8, 2007.
Biopact: Mozambique-India partnership: biofuels for poverty alleviation - July 03, 2007
Biopact: Lusophone world and China join forces to produce biofuels in Mozambique - May 19, 2007
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home