Uruguay invites Gazprom to participate in hydrocarbon exploration and development projects

Jorge Meier Long (Uruguan Ambassador in Russia), Ramon Mendez (director of the national energy company) and representatives from the Uruguay national oil-and-gas company ANCAP were also part of the delegation.
Edward Shevchenko (Gazprom zarubezhneftegaz's deputy Managing Director for international cooperation) and Vadim Rybalchenko (Deputy Managing Director and the company's chief geologist) were representing the Russian side of the talks.
The representatives from Gazprom zarubezhneftegaz made a presentation about the company's activities, and the implementation of Gazprom's hydrocarbon exploration and production projects overseas.
From their side, the Uruguyan representatives discussed the development of the country's energy sector, and the plans for its growth in the future. A project for building a regasification plant in Montevideo to meet the needs of industry and the population for natural gas as well as exports to Argentina was proposed, along with projects for hydrocarbon exploration on Uruguyan soil.
The main attention of the Uruguyan delegation was given to the presentation of a second round of international tenders for the exploration and development of oil-and-gas deposits on the country's continental shelf (Ronda Uruguay 2011), and within this context a number of offshore blocks with an area of 3,000 to 10,000 square kilometers will be put forward in the tender. The representatives from ANCAP proposed to Gazprom that they consider the possibility of taking part in the tender, remarking that investors will be guaranteed the most favourable investment conditions - no firm obligations for the programme of exploration work, freedom from the majority of taxes for the exploration period, and attractive production sharing agreement conditions for the production period.
Concluding the meeting, the Uruguyan Ambassador, Mr. Long, pointed out the long-standing warm relationship between Russian and Uruguay, which started as far back as the time of the 1917 revolution. "In Uruguay, there is a saying:  while one person dreams, another is already acting. We have seen that Gazprom works at the most varied points on the globe. I hope that in a few years, we will see a mark on Gazprom's map - Gazprom in Uruguay", wished the Ambassador.