President Lula signs contract for 11,233 MW hydroelectric dam

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has signed a contract for the construction of a new hydroelectric dam in Brazil's Amazon region. Talking about the project President Lula said that it would have been 'impossible' to build a hydroelectric dam of such scale several years ago, and that the project 'is less aggressive than the original one' approved back in February this year.

Brazil's Minister of Mines and Energy, Marcio Zimmermann, said that the Bela Monte complex, to be built near Xingu River in the northern state of Para, will 'play an important role in the development' of the region. Opponents of the Bela Monte complex say that the project will displace around 50,000 Indians. The claim has been counteracted by the president of the Bela Monte enterprise, Carlos Nascimento, who said that the people displaced 'will be duly compensated'.

The contract to build the complex was awarded to a consortium led by state-owned Companhia Hidro Eletrica. Once completed the 11,233 MW Belo Monte dam will be the world's third largest after China's Three Gorges and the Itaipu complex, and is expected to cost R$20 billion.

Source: Sify News

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Minister says there's a possibility of more stringent offshore drilling regulations

Brazil's Mines and Energy Minister, Marcio Zimmermann, has made an official statement saying that the spill in the Gulf of Mexico, has been a misfortunate accident, but one that has prompted Brazilian government to contemplate the possibility of imposing more stringent regulations in the country's offshore drilling sector.

Speaking to reporters, after an event at the World Expo, Zimmermann said that Brazil will be able to export around 20 million barrels of oil per year by 2019, and confirmed that the country has received $6-$7 billion of oil-for-loan deal from China in 2009.

In that same year, Petrobras received a $10 billion credit deal from China Development Bank, in exchange for a 10-year oil supply agreement with China Petroleum and Chemical Corp.

Chemical Corp has received 150,000 barrels of crude oil a day in the first year; the quantities are set to rise to 200,000 b/d in the next nine years. Petrobras plans to invest $118.8 billion in exploration and production in the next four years, with $30.9 billion designated for offshore oil development.

Source: Wall Street Journal

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