Does Uruguay need Bolivian gas?

Bolivia's hydrocarbons and energy minister Luis Alberto Sánchez (pictured) announced that state hydrocarbons company YPFB may visit Uruguay to discuss the possible sale of LNG.

"We are working with YPFB to see the possibility of exporting LNG to Uruguay, possibly next week we will travel," state news agency ABI quoted Sánchez as saying.

Last September, the NOC began a trial run of a virtual LNG supply project.

The minister also envisions the sale of LPG to Uruguay and Paraguay to complement existing LPG deliveries to Brazil and Argentina.

The planned gas exports to Uruguay fall under Bolivia's export-oriented natural gas industrialization push.

The shipments would build on an initiative from regional bloc Urupabol – formed by Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay – to transport LNG along the Paraguay-Paraná waterway.

But does Uruguay, a small market with a population of 3.4mn, need the gas?

The Southern Cone nation is already developing its own LNG project which will supply gas for power generation and future industrial, commercial and residential use.

Uruguay is also ramping up public and private sector preparation for oil and gas production.

And renewable energy sources account for 95% of power generated in Uruguay which recently announced it will export electricity to Brazil.

The following chart comes from our annual oil and gas survey, in which experts expressed their views on LNG.