Lagos announces natural gas discovery in southern Chile

SANTIAGO — Chilean President Ricardo Lagos said on Thursday that the state oil company had found natural gas reserves in southern Chile, but only enough to supply the region.

The newly found reserves in Magallanes, 2,500 km south of Santiago, could help meet domestic consumption as well as aiding Methanex, a company that has struggled to find enough imported gas for its three large methanol plants in the area.

The reserves, found by the state oil company, ENAP, “will allowus to supply gas to the southern region of Magallanes, which is important not just for residents, but also for the Methanex plant,” said the president.

Helmerich and Payne International Drilling Co., a prospecting company with 70 people working in the area, discovered the existence of three large reserves 4,000 meters below the surface, enough to supply 25 percent of Chile’s consumption.

Xinhua