Brazil, Ecuador sign fuel agreements

The presidents of Brazil and Ecuador signed agreements for the two countries to jointly produce biofuels and explore for oil in Ecuador.

"We will give Ecuador's biofuel program our full support," said Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who hosted his Ecuadorean counterpart Rafael Correa on Wednesday in the capital of Brasilia.

"Our two nations are determined to carry out this revolution of clean and renewable energy that generates jobs and preserves the environment," Silva added.

Brazil is the world's No. 1 sugar producer and exporter, and the leading exporter of ethanol made from sugarcane. It also is the world's second-largest ethanol producer after the United States, and is ramping up production of soybean-based biodiesel.

The recently elected Correa said Ecuador hopes to accelerate the production of biofuels "not only because it is environmentally friendly, but also because it will help develop the country's agricultural sector and improve income distribution."

Also Wednesday, Brazil's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, and Ecuador's state-oil firm Petroecuador signed a memorandum of understanding to develop Ecuador's Ishpingo-Tiputini-Tambococha oil fields.

The fields, which are located in Ecuador's Yasuni National Park -- a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve -- hold nearly 1 billion barrels of crude.

Correa said at a news conference that he had "already decided" that Ecuador wants to return as a member of the petroleum cartel OPEC, although he didn't say when. Ecuador was a member until the 1990s, when it failed to meet its quota.

(Published by The Brazilian, April 5, 2007)