Brazil, Venezuela sign $13.5 bln refinery deal

Brazil and Venezuela have signed a long-delayed deal on a joint venture to build and run an oil refinery in Brazil, Venezuela's Universal newspaper said on Saturday.

MOSCOW, October 31 (RIA Novosti) - Brazil and Venezuela have signed a long-delayed deal on a joint venture to build and run an oil refinery in Brazil, Venezuela's Universal newspaper said on Saturday.

State-run Petroleo Brasileiro SA will hold a 60% stake in the firm and Petroleos de Venezuela will have the other 40% under a deal the two companied signed on Friday after four years of negotiations.

Brazil has already started the construction of the Abreu e Lima refinery estimated at $13.5 billion in northeastern Pernambuco state. The facility is expected to process 200,000 barrels of crude a day.

The agreement came during Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's visit to Venezuela.

The Latin American leaders signed a host of other agreements on Friday, including on joint development of oil fields in Venezuela's Zulia state, cooperation in electronic equipment production, healthcare and sport, the paper said.