Abstract

There is a world wide trend towards regional economic integration, this trend can be clearly perceived in Latin America and in particular in the" Southern Cone" region - Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. Natural gas and power generation have been the driving forces of the regional energy integration. The current infrastructure for gas transportation has accomplished one of the major challenges of the region, to bridge the distance between the producing fields and the markets of demand.

The Southern Cone is in the process of becoming the worlds third largest integrated natural gas system.

Expansion of the current pipeline network and power transmission lines interconnection will open new alternatives for delivering energy. Countries within the region still have to overcome regulatory issues that prevent the regional energy integration from fully materializing.

No more energy Globalization implies a tendency towards the creation of an international integrated market. borders: The new Playing Field In the past decade we have witness how, through multilateral and bilateral agreements the process of regional economic integration has been consolidating itself worldwide. In Latin America, countries overcame longstanding territorial disputes and geo-political concerns of the past, enabling interregional trade. Access to a reliable and competitive source of energy is a critical factor for those who pretend to be an economic player in the new world order. This phenomenon of regional integration blossomed in Latin America with the democratically elected governments.

Political stability and the consolidation of the democracies led to deregulation and liberalization of the markets. The "demonopolization" of the state petroleum companies opened the inflow of private capital and created opportunities for private companies involvement through the entire energy value chain.

The new liberal regulatory frameworks fostered regional integration. In 1990's, the commitment of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay to form an economic union led to the creation of the Mercosur. Chile and Bolivia are already adherent members of Mercosur while Peru will naturally become part of the regional integration.

In this new scenario natural gas and power generation have been the driving forces of the regional energy integration in the Southern Cone. A combination of factors led to the acceleration of the energy integration process in the Southern Cone

  • Major legal and regulatory reforms in the energy sector

  • Natural gas infrastructure linking reserves to the large markets of demand BLOCK 3 - - FORUM 16 133

GAS AND POWER HEAD TO HEAD IN THE ENERGY INTEGRATION OF THE SOUTHERN CONE: SHAPING THE FUTURE

  • Technological innovations in Combined Gas Cycle Turbines - lower cos

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