ALBA Docs

Signed by Presidents Hugo Chavez, Evo Morales, Daniel Ortega and Vice President Carlos Lage.

The Republic of Bolivia, the Republic of Cuba, the Republic of Nicaragua and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, henceforth the parties;

Taking into account the Agreement between the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the President of the Council of State of Cuba, for the Application of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, signed on 14th December 2004;

Considering the Agreement for the Application of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas and the Peoples’ Trade Agreement, which was adopted on 29th April 2006;

Considering that one of the principal objectives of the ALBA is to achieve a form of energetic integration that guarantees the stable supply of energetic products, and benefits Latin American and Caribbean societies, as established by the joint declaration subscribed in La Havana on 14th December 2004.

Recognizing the need to adapt to the changing conditions of the financial and hydrocarbon markets, and to guarantee the right of peoples to access energy resources;

Convinced of the need to form a strategic alliance between the States and peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean, based upon the principles of solidarity, cooperation, complementarity and mutual benefit while working towards common objectives;

Considering that there are ongoing projects for the construction of refineries in member countries, such as a refinery with a capacity of 150,000 barrels per day in Nicaragua, or a refinery with a capacity of 10,000 per day in Bolivia, and 65,000 in Cuba.

Considering that guaranteeing a universal supply of energy as a right of the peoples must be one of the ALBA objectives, indispensable to education, health and production;

Recognizing the need to establish a model for the rational use of energy, in order to preserve the already scarce energy and natural resources, and to preserve the forests, water and land;

Considering the importance of promoting policies to stop energetic waste, characteristic of the predatory and capitalist modes of production;

Agree:

Article I
OBJECTIVE

The Present Treaty’s objective is to guarantee the balance of the existing energetic matrixes of each party, on the construction of the ALBA’s energetic matrix, which is based on the criteria of rational use of energy, maximization of energy saving and energetic efficiency, together with the development of alternative energy sources in each party.

 Article II
SCOPE

The parties signatory of the present Treaty agree to develop their objective through the following fundamental areas of action:

1- Oil

The parties will share in the Orinoco’s Oil Belt as the Block of the ALBA, therefore having oil resources available to guarantee the energy supply of their respective countries during the next 25 years.

Exploration and exploitation will take place jointly and with the participation of every member country of the ALBA, via a transnational oil venture called PETROALBA, which will operate in the Orinoco’s Oil Belt. The Block of the ALBA may increase its size if more countries decide to join. In this event, it will expand to guarantee reserves for the long term supply of energy and to administer any benefits derived from the commercialization of oil in third countries.

When required, the capacity of refinement of the parties will be expanded, in order to be able to process crude coming from the Block of the ALBA, the Orinoco’s Oil Belt, and to manufacture any products required to satisfy the internal demand of the parties, in conformity with the ALBA’s Energetic Agreement.

Under this Treaty, refinement will take place in a manner that allows for the development of the petrochemical factor, based on refinement trends. Refinement will also allow for the export of surplus products to international markets.

2- Gas

The parties agree to develop initiatives that allow the supply of gas to signatory countries. The objective is to make available a source of energy that is economical and less polluting than oil, in order to balance the ALBA’s energetic matrix.

The development of infrastructure for transport, processing activities and the projects for the joint exploitation of this resource will be funded through joint ventures.

The parties agree to develop the pipelines required to extend the use of natural gas in their territories, and to interconnect them with their respective continental areas.

The parties may collaborate to construct liquefying and regasification plants, in order to have the necessary infrastructure available in the Caribbean, as part of the energetic matrix of the parties.

The parties agree to include gas into their energetic matrix, with the objective of developing programs of substitution of liquid fuels, promoting domestic consumption and substituting the liquid fuels currently used in the generation of electric energy. With regards to the latter, the parties will promote the use of highly efficient machinery and combined cycle power plants with special emphasis in developing the use of vehicular gas in the automotive field.

The parties will strive to develop petrochemical poles in their respective territories, with the objective of producing fertilizers and other products used in the transformation of plastics and other industrial products.

3- Electric Energy

The parties will promote the substitution of liquid fuels for gas or other economical fuels, in order to use all basic energy sources that are available and to maximize the use of hydroelectric and thermoelectric energies, based on gas or on combined cycles.

The parties will strive to increase the support given to their national electric networks and to extend the availability of service to areas currently excluded, through the introduction of distributed systems.

4- Alternative Energies

The parties will develop joint projects and investigate the use of all alternative resources available in their territories, such as geothermal power, small scale hydroelectric centrals, wind power, solar power, etc.

5- Energy Saving

The parties will establish programs for the substitution of high electric consumption artifacts by others more energetically efficient. This will include the substitution of standard light bulbs by energy saving bulbs, and the substitution of high consumption electric generators by systems powered by gas or combined cycles. Likewise, the parties will carry out programs of industrial restructuring in order to enhance their economies and maximize the availability of energy resources in their respective territories.

The parties will develop programs for the substitution of liquid fuels by natural gas in their respective vehicular fields, in order to expand the use of collective transport.

Putting it all into practice: Transnational Venture for Energy

The parties will create a transnational venture for energy with the objective of achieving the objectives set in this Treaty. The transnational venture will encompass the areas of oil, gas, refinement, petrochemical, networks of transport infrastructure, storage, distribution, electricity, alternative energies and maritime transport, always complying with the sovereignty and legal requirements of each country.

The transnational venture will be constituted as a corporation of bi-national companies. Its organizational and administrative design will be agreed by the parties, and will be based on the maximization of technical and financial capacities, and the availability of resources, in order to develop the projects needed to use the available energy resources in each party. The venture’s structure will allow for the development of infrastructure, and the capacity for generation, transport and commercialization of energy resources.

The transnational venture will enjoy the advantages offered by each State with the objective of developing projects based on the principles of solidarity and complementarity, as opposed to the concepts of competitiveness and free market.

The parties agree to negotiate, with a view to minimizing operational costs, privileging the criteria of the ALBA in the organizational value chain.

Article III

The parties agree to create the ALBA’s Energy Council within the framework of the present Treaty, whose headquarters will be based in the city of Caracas, Venezuela. The Council will be formed by the Energy Ministers of each party.

The parties will decide on the location and dates of the ALBA’s Energy Council meetings.

Article IV

The present Treaty may be amended if the parties agree to do so. Any amendment or modification will come into force on the date agreed by the parties.

Article V

Any queries or controversies that may arise out of the interpretation of the present Treaty will be resolved by the direct negotiation of the parties’ diplomatic body.

Article VI

The Ministry of Popular Power for Foreign Affairs of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela will be the Trustee of the present Treaty.

Article VII

The present Agreement will remain open to the adhesion of member countries of the ALBA, once it comes into force, as established by the Agreement for the Application of the ALBA, signed in the city of La Havana, on 14th December 2004.

Article VIII

The present Agreement will come into force following its ratification, through which the parties will notify the Trustee of their intentions to comply with the constitutional and legal formalities required. The Agreement will be into effect for a period of ten (10) years, and may be automatically renewed for consecutive periods of five (5) year, unless one of the parties notifies the Trustee of the contrary, in writing, with six (6) months’ notice and through diplomatic means.

The abrogation of the present Agreement will not affect any programs or projects that may be underway. These will be carried out to their full term, unless the parties agree otherwise.

Article IX
Transitory provision

The parties will submit any amendments and additions prior to ratification within thirty (30) days. Amendments or additions will comply with the governing regulations of each country.

Signed in the city of Barquisimeto, on 29th April 2007, in three original copies of equal content, in Spanish language.

On behalf of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Hugo Chavez Frias
President of the Republic

On behalf of the Republic of Bolivia
Evo Morales
President of the Republic

On behalf of the Republic of Cuba
Carlos Lage
Vice President of the Repubic

On behalf of the Republic of Nicaragua
Daniel Ortega
President of the Republic

(Translation for Portal ALBA by Damaris Garzón)

Original document: http://www.alternativabolivariana.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1803