Uruguay Could Have Significant Recoverable Natural Gas Reserves

According to recent reports published by the U.S. Energy Information Agency, Uruguay could have recoverable natural gas reserves as high as 588 billion cubic meters, which would give it the region’s sixth largest potential natural gas assets.

Another report from the U.S. government two months ago states that Uruguay’s north basin alone, next to adjacent Brazilian fields, has a potential capacity of 368 billion cubic meters of “technically recoverable” natural gas, MercoPress news agency reported. Besides its north basin, the U.S. government report adds that Uruguay’s Denovian Cordobes formation could contain possible oil reserves of up to 500 million barrels.

U.S. company Schuepbach has a two year contract to survey Uruguay’s north basin with Uruguay’s government owned oil corporation Administracion Nacional de Combustibles, Alcohol y Portland, or ANCAP. While the Schuepbach contract expires later this month, ANCAP intends to begin exploratory drilling in the area before the first quarter of 2012.

Speculation mounted about Uruguay’s potential natural gas reserves after former President Tabare Vazquez announced a major gas find on his official Web site in June 2008 located about 90 miles off Uruguay's southern Atlantic coast near the city of Punta del Este.

By. Joao Peixe, Deputy Editor OilPrice.com