Brazil to Reach Oil Self-Sufficiency Next Year, Explores Other Sources

[papau]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGB37EEA8FE.html

Brazil to Reach Oil Self-Sufficiency Next Year, Explores Other Sources

The Associated Press

Published: Oct 25, 2005


BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) - <snip>It's quite a change from the 1970s, when Brazil imported 85 percent of the oil it consumed, deepening a foreign debt that caused a financial crisis lasting more than a decade.

<snip>
"We think we'll have more and more natural gas available," Rondeau (Finance Minister Silas Rondeau said Tuesday) said, although he said it was too early to say when Brazil would reach self-sufficiency in gas. "With this, the role of foreign gas, like (gas from) Bolivian, will be reduced."

The government also will develop alternative and "clean" energy sources for remote areas like the Amazon rain forest, where a recent drought shrank rivers and hampered delivery of food, medication and fuel.

"We're stressing wind energy, small hydroelectric dams and biomass energy, which can come from wood residue or sugar cane bagasse," Rondeau said.

[enid602]

1. Brazil

I think they've actually been ENERGY independent for some time now, given that they sell some of the aforementioned alternative energy supplies to buy oil. But I guess the Brazilians have technology advantages compared with we poor Americans.

[papau]

2. LOL :-)

technology advantages do help if there is a government and corporations that want to use those "technology advantages"

[Massacure]

7. Too bad they have to cut down the rainforest to do it though.

[applegrove]

3. WHere there is a will - there is a way. They also don't have to heat their

homes as much - & they don't consume stuff like North Americans do.

Way to go BRAZIL!

[enid602]

4. Brazil

They've also decided that the energy industry is there to serve the nation and economy, rather than itself. Our energy industry has become a rogue nation.

[Oerdin]

5. Brazil has done this by...

Massively increasing domestic oil production. Mainly off sore oil and gas production. If the US took similiar action by increasing gas taxes, forcing up CAFE standards, inoriving energy efficiency for homes & businesses, increased the use of ethinol, and greenlighting a huge increase in off shore production then the US could likely reach the same point in 30 years.

Over half of our trade deficit comes from oil imports so even if we don't shift from a hydrocarbon based economy it would still be hugely benificial to our nation's economy to become energy independent. We'd also stop filling the pockets of the oil dictatorships around the world and that would also be a major improvement.

[applegrove]

6. Yes - the subsidization of the oil industry by all other sectors of the

economy keeps Americans from leading the way in R&D on alternatives too. Some other countries will own the R&D on the next types of energy.

[NNadir]

8. I love that wooden biomass.

I'll bet that the case can be made that all those Amazon trees also hamper the delivery of food, medication and fuel.