Bolsonaro visited Suriname on Thursday —and tomorrow Friday he will be in Guyana— with the declared intention of offering the two neighboring countries the experience of this state oil company in prospecting for oil and gas in deep waters, after they discovered gigantic reserves in the Atlantic Ocean.
“I appreciate what we talked about recently about the possible priority that can be given to Brazil, through Petrobras, so that it comes here to collaborate in oil and gas prospecting,” the Brazilian president stressed in a statement to the press alongside the Surinamese President at the conclusion of a meeting that took place in Paramaribo.
Bolsonaro traveled accompanied by the Minister of Infrastructure, Tarcisio Freitas, and the Minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque.
Albuquerque recalled that in Suriname and Guyana there are proven reserves that correspond to 40 percent of all Brazilian pre-salt.
He assured that Brazil has the experience in the exploitation of deposits, the necessary technological development, patents, knowledge in the protection of the environment, among other aspects, for which he hopes that it can benefit from the relationship with those countries.
In the Joint Declaration that Bolsonaro and Santokhi released after their meeting, they highlighted energy cooperation.
According to the document, both nations committed to “analyze the possibilities, in light of the development of the offshore oil and gas industry in Suriname, of cooperation related to the construction of technical and institutional capacity, the development of local content and the renewable energy”.
They also highlighted the possibility of Suriname meeting part of the electricity supply needs of the northern states of Brazil, which are not connected to the national electricity system and depend on energy imported from Venezuela.
They also committed to “exchange information on the respective national energy plans, and exchange experiences in regulatory matters in the oil and gas sector, including the regulation of local content, as well as collaboration in the prevention of accidents due to spills of Petroleum”.
jha/lpn
