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Venezuela's Mega Gas Pipeline Plans Held Up

https://www.chemnet.com   Aug 06,2007 Venezuelanalysis
CARACAS - The South American mega-pipeline project to transport natural gas from the Caribbean to the River Plate, supplying a large part of Brazil en route, "has cooled down because of attacks from within South America itself" and due to attempts by the United States to delay the plans, complained Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
The massive project was launched in Rio de Janeiro in April 2006 by Chavez and Presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil and Nestor Kirchner of Argentina. The cost of laying 8,000 kilometres of pipeline to link their three countries as well as Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru and Ecuador, is estimated at 25 billion dollars.

The pipeline would either cross Brazil’s Amazon region or skirt it on the eastern side, and should be capable of carrying 150 million cubic metres a day, equivalent to nearly half of Venezuela’s current consumption of natural gas, from the northeast of Venezuela to the main urban and industrial centres of the countries to the south.

"Fortunately for Latin America, Venezuela has one of the largest gas reserves in the world. The gas here will last a century," said Chavez last week at a rally of his supporters, west of Caracas.

Venezuela’s gas reserves are estimated at 150 trillion cubic feet, ranking it ninth in the world, but most of its gas is associated with crude oil, which would have to be pumped out to extract the gas. Bolivia has South America’s second largest natural gas reserves, 52 trillion cubic feet, but this is non-associated or free gas.

The initial enthusiasm for the pipeline, which according to the agreement reached in Rio de Janeiro should have been presented to the other South American governments in September, gave way to extended periods between meetings, more time taken for further study of the project, and official silence on the matter.
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