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02/17/2006:

"Paraguay finds oil, natural gas"

The Paraguayan government confirmed on Tuesday that a British prospecting company has found oil and natural gas in the north of Paraguay, whose energy has depended on import.

The company, CDS Energy, has spotted oil and gas in Independencia III, an exploratory well in Gabino Mendoza, in Chaco, Public Works and Communications Minister Jose Alderete told Paraguayan daily ABC Color.

The CDS has sent its latest samples to laboratories in Texas in the United States, and the results are expected by the end of February, the newspaper said.

CDS sources told the paper that the well would produce fuel. The final well will be 3.2 km deep, but the test wells went no deeper than 1.6 km, they said.

Experts involved in the exploration said they had found sizeable quantities of natural gas and small amounts of crude oil.
The CDS has drilled a total of five holes in Paraguay, under a contract signed by the country's ministry of public works.
people'sdaily/China