07-08-08 Uruguay has discovered a promising offshore gas deposit that has the potential to turn its small agricultural- and services-orientated economy into a net gas exporter according to Daniel Martinez, the country's industry and energy minister. The resource is 100 km (60 miles) off the coast of Uruguay's Punta del Este resort that shares geological features of the Santos basin.
Uruguay's expectations are more modest, but Martinez said "bright spots" of seismic surveys showed gas in several places, at depths of 300 metres to 5.5 km. Development was "technically and economically viable".

The government thinks there is oil too, but Martinez cautioned that the experimental drilling to begin in two to three years would need to establish a more accurate picture. Martinez said Uruguay had embarked on a charm offensive in Texas, Rome, Madrid, India, South Africa and London to "seduce" investors in advance of a presentation in December in Montevideo and a tender next July.
Raul Sendic, president of Uruguay's state energy company, Ancap, said Spain's Repsol-YPF, France's Total, Italy's ENI and Britain's BP had expressed interest in Uruguay's discovery.

Brazil, Argentina and Chile rely heavily on gas, but supplies are under increasing pressure. Record crude prices have prompted governments and companies to scour the globe for prospects or to renew interest in previously rejected ones.
In Paraguay, where hydrocarbons exploration has disappointed for decades, US-based Pantera Petroleum has revisited 1990s seismic data. It says it has found a potential 129 mm barrel oil reserve to cover domestic demand for 18 years.