LatinNews Daily - 10 February 2020

Brazil: On 3 February US Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette co-chaired the first ministerial meeting of the US-Brazil Energy Forum (Usbef) alongside Brazil’s mining & energy minister Bento Albuquerque in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Announced by US President Donald Trump and Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro during their March 2019 meeting in Washington DC, the Usbef aims to promote collaboration on technical, regulatory, and policy issues and to tackle any impediments to bilateral energy trade and investment. Brouillette and Albuquerque witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and the Brazilian association for the development of nuclear activities (Abdan) to increase energy cooperation. US-based electric corporation Westinghouse also signed a letter of intent with the Brazilian state-owned nuclear power firm, Electronuclear, to help extend the life of the failing ‘Angra I’ nuclear power plant near Rio de Janeiro city. Brouillette praised Brazil’s efforts to begin modernising its regulatory framework in oil, gas, and electricity, and espouse the benefits of nuclear energy, which “strengthens energy security and in so doing, it advances economic security and it bolsters national security”. During his visit, Brouillette also attended a roundtable discussion with US civil nuclear energy industry representatives, commenting that the “robust presence of US Government and industry leaders is indicative of our strong desire to partner with Brazil as it looks to expand its civil nuclear power programme.”

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