MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

ENAP investment plan 2007/11 totals 4.5 billion

Chile's government oil corporation ENAP announced this week investments totaling 4.5 billion US dollars in the coming four years, 2007/2011, emphasizing exploration and production and the construction of refineries.

The strategic plan figure is 130% higher than the previous four years when ENAP disbursed 1.95 billion US dollars. Almost half, 2.3 billion US dollars, is to be financed with ENAP own resources and the rest in association with private companies. ENAP pointed out that the company has consolidated its position in the domestic fuels distribution market and has no further plans to increase its share, although if opportunities emerge it will take advantage of them. The company is also elaborating a logistics and marketing program to conclude 2011. ENAP overseas activities include fuel distribution in Peru and Ecuador, heavy involvement in hydrocarbons exploration and production in Argentina, Colombia, Egypt, Ecuador and Iran. Venezuela is also a target where ENAP has plans to construct a heavy oil refinery as its first penetration step to that market, although no timetable or figures were anticipated. In Chile one of ENAP pet projects is the liquid natural gas terminal, including port facilities, which it will begin constructing next January in the half north of the country in an effort to significantly reduce the Argentine natural gas dependency. The terminal should be operational in early 2008, said ENAP. To ensure the terminal construction keeps to the original timetable, or even before, an extra 10% has been added to the 400 million US dollars investment. ENAP estimates that in the 2007/11 period it will contribute to the Chilean Treasury with 1.1 billion US dollars, 30% up from the 2002/06 period.