MONTEVIDEO - Paraguay is advancing talks with energy firms and high-ranking government officials from Argentina and Brazil over a potential $1.5 billion gas pipeline to connect the three countries, senior government officials for Paraguay and Brazil told Reuters.
Governments and companies from Argentina and Brazil have also engaged in talks with Bolivia since last year over what they think could be the fastest and cheapest option to transport gas from Vaca Muerta to the north of the region, which would involve reversing the flow of Bolivia's pipeline network.
Plans shared with Reuters show the new pipeline would run 110 kilometers from Campos Duran in northern Argentina to the Paraguayan border, across another 530 km of arid, flat land in the Paraguayan Chaco to reach Brazil. Brazil has made clear that Argentine gas from Vaca Muerta - the world's second largest shale gas formation and fourth largest for shale oil - will be needed to balance supplies due to the decline in Bolivia's gas production.