Chile And British Gas Finalize LNG Project Details

Chile says that final negotiations are underway with British Gas (BG Group), the UK oil and gas company that won the contract earlier this year to build and supply liquid natural gas (LNG) in the country. BG beat off France’s Suez and Spain’s YPF Repsol to win the contract in February, with a $350 million commitment to help build an LNG regasification plant on the central coast at Quintero bay. The plant will increase Chile’s production of petroleum and natural gas – part of its program of energy diversification – and reduce its dependence on imported natural gas from neighboring Argentina. Chilean power company Endesa Chile and gas distributor Metrogas have committed to buying from the plant, which is likely to be operational in 2008/9.