The Brazilian government’s central policy group has ordered Petrobras, the country’s state-run oil giant, to invest more in natural gas exploration and production in order to reduce Brazil’s dependence on gas from Bolivia.
Approximately 50% of the natural gas used in Brazil at the moment comes from Bolivia.
Participating in the meeting were Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; the presidential Chief of Staff Dilma Roussef; minister of Finance, Guido Mantega; minister of Justice, Thomaz Bastos; the head of the secretariat of Institutional Relations of the Presidency, Tarso Genro; and the General Secretary of the Presidency, Luiz Dulci.
According to presidential spokesman, Andre Singer, "In the meantime, there will be no price increases for Brazilian consumers, be they residential, business or automobile users. And there will be no shortage of gas."
ABr