São Paulo – The Brazilian Chief of Staff, Dilma Roussef, a likely candidate of the Workers Party (PT) to succeed president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, confirmed today (25th), in the city of São Paulo, that Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company of Saudi Arabia, has manifested interest in exploring for oil in the Brazilian pre-salt layer.
“All of the oil companies, in particular Saudi Aramco, will be very welcome in Brazil,” she said in a press conference to foreign correspondents. Dilma stated that the company expressed its interest during the visit that Lula made to Riyadh in May this year.
According to her, the interest that was shown was underscored by the Saudi minister of Petroleum, Ali Al-Naimi, also during Lula’s trip. As reported by ANBA at the time, the Brazilian president invited Naimi to visit Brazil and look into possibilities of partnership between Petrobras and Aramco.
“Cooperation with the Arab world is welcome,” said Dilma. The minister added that Brazil is open to international companies, private or state-owned, that are willing to invest in the pre-salt. “There is a unique opportunity available right now for private and state-owned participation,” said she, referring to discoveries of large reserves made recently in the country’s territorial waters.
The energy sector was one of the main topics approached by Dilma in the interview, as prior to being the Chief of Staff, she was the minister of Mines and Energy. She stated that more than just extracting oil, the government wants to encourage the supply chain of products and services for the sector, including the building of platforms, vessels and drilling rigs, and also to boost the refining and petrochemical sectors. “Why export crude petroleum?”, she asked.
Shortly before the UN conference on climate change, due December in Copenhagen, Denmark, the minister claimed that the oil discoveries notwithstanding, Brazil is at the cutting edge of renewable energy sources, and intends to remain that way. She mentioned ethanol and biodiesel, both of which are widely used as fuels in the country.
“In terms of renewable energy, we are unbeatable,” she said. “We believe that a deeper ethanol market will be better for us,” she claimed, referring to Brazilian efforts to propagate alcohol fuel production around the world and turn the product into international commodity. She stated that the sugarcane zoning, issued this month by the government, prevents farming in areas earmarked for preservation and food production.
Environment
She also spoke at length about the environment, said that the government is committed to the matter, and highlighted electric power generation, which in Brazil is mostly done by hydroelectric plants.
According to Dilma, the government is contemplating implementing a model of “platform plants,” i.e. building plants in forest areas that are isolated from civilisation, to be accessed by helicopters, similar to what takes place in oil platforms. This, according to her, would prevent the creation of urban centres in the woods and the resulting environmental impact.
With the possible presidential candidacy of former minister of Environment Marina Silva, who is currently a member of the Green Party (PV), the environmental issue will certainly be a highlight in the debates for the election due 2010. Accused of favouring development in detriment of the environment, Dilma denied the accusation and claimed that preservation and reduction of emissions are among the government’s priorities.
She declared that the biggest challenge facing Brazil in this sector is reducing deforestation, and added that the government has set “clear-cut goals” to that end. “We have had an outstanding performance this year,” said the minister, referring to the 34% reduction in deforestation rate in the Amazon, recorded in August by the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe).
Dilma called attention to the fact that Brazil has committed to reducing its emissions by 4.8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2020. She underscored, however, that emerging nations cannot bear the burden alone, and said that developed nations must take their share of responsibility.
21st century power
The minister also talked about the Brazilian economy in general, and said that the country “is truly becoming a 21st century power.” She stated that economic stability is an important conquest, and called attention to the Brazilian resistance to the international financial crisis. “All macroeconomic data point to great strength in the recovery and solidity of economic foundations,” she said.
In her opinion, the country will go back to having a good growth rate as early as 2010 and the domestic market should see “significant appreciation.” The combination of economic and social growth is going to turn Brazil into a country of great opportunities,” she asserted.
Along the same lines as Lula, she called for reforms in multilateral financial institutions, such as the IMF, so as to grant greater representation to developing countries, and said that the discussion of matters such as market regulation and the end of tax havens cannot be put aside with the end of this crisis. “We cannot work in 2009 with institutions that date back to 1945 or 1946.”
Dilma claimed that, at the height of the crisis, the government called on the Central Bank and on the country’s state-owned banks, i.e. the Bank of the Brazil and the Federal Savings Bank, to irrigate the economy with credit, but denied the interventionism that the Lula administration has been charged with. “There is a false opposition between the public and private sectors, we are the government that established the most partnerships with the private initiative,” she said.
She asserted that government action during the crisis was meant to “save companies.” “Now we are part of the solution [for the crisis]. Our policy of partnerships with the private sector is clear to see,” she stated. The minister claimed that the government is not interventionist, because it does not intend to own companies in order to operate on the market, but rather that it is “nationalistic.”
Elections
The elections were also a recurring theme during the interview. Questioned about the poll conducted by the National Confederation of Industries (CNI) and the Brazilian Institute of Public Opinion and Statistics (Ibope) that was disclosed this week, pointing to the governor of the state of São Paulo, José Serra as the favourite presidential candidate, and to her in a tie in second place with congressman Ciro Gomes, Dilma underscored that the approval rate of Lula and his administration “is quite significant for any candidate.” In other words, the minister believes that in the presidential campaign of 2010, the rate of approval should be converted into votes for the government’s candidate, which she is likely to be. “The government has things to show for itself,” she said.
To her, the poll conducted more than one year before the election is “a piece of advice,” but only shows “a certain moment” and is also a “flashback” to the last election, in an allusion to the fact that Gomes and Serra have already been candidates for presidency. Dilma added that Marina Silva’s joining the presidential race is a positive thing. “I believe that she is a good candidate, she is very welcome, it is a signal of the maturing of the Brazilian society,” she stated.
Honduras
With regard to diplomacy, Dilma also underscored the Brazilian government’s stance of supporting the restoring of president Manuel Zelaya to power in Honduras. Ousted by a coup and exiled from his country, Zelaya has managed to return, and is taking shelter since last Monday at the Brazilian embassy in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa.
“We do not negotiate certain principles, as in ‘if the dictatorship becomes less harsh, then we will negotiate.’ No, democracy is not open to negotiation,” said the minister, alluding to the possibility of the provisional government remaining in power up until the Honduran elections in November. Brazilian diplomacy, with the support of the UN and of the remaining American nations, wants Zelaya to be restored to power.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
