CARACAS, Venezuela, May 9 (UPI) -- The first South American Energy Council was inaugurated in Venezuela.
Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez inaugurated the council Thursday at PDVSA's headquarters in Caracas, Xinhua reported.
"All South America is working on the energy issue," Ramirez said.
The South American Energy Council was created by the Margarita Declaration, signed during the first South American Energy Summit last April. The energy ministers' meetings will be carried out privately and results will be presented to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Ramirez said the meetings will focus on regional energy security and oil price hikes.
Representatives will be from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay, Guyana, Peru and Paraguay.
In addition to the council, Ramirez announced an additional 30,000 billion barrels of crude oil were added to the proven reserves during the oil reserve certification process that was started last year.
