‘);eIFD.close();
var s = eIFD.createElement(‘SCRIPT’);
s.src = schemeLocal() + ‘://’ + (eS2?eS2:eS1) +’/layers/epl-41.js’;
eIFD.body.appendChild(s);
if (!eS2) {
var ss = eIFD.createElement(‘SCRIPT’);
ss.src = schemeLocal() + ‘://ads.us.e-planning.net/egc/4/123cd’;
eIFD.body.appendChild(ss);
}
eplLL = true;
return false;
}
}
eplCheckStart();
function eplSetAdM(eID,custF) {
if (eplCheckStart()) {
if (custF) { document.epl.setCustomAdShow(eID,eplArgs.custom[eID]); }
document.epl.showSpace(eID);
} else {
var efu = ‘eplSetAdM(“‘+eID+'”, ‘+ (custF?’true’:’false’) +’);’;
setTimeout(efu, 250);
}
}
function eplAD4M(eID,custF) {
document.write(‘
‘);
if (custF) {
if (!eplArgs.custom) { eplArgs.custom = {}; }
eplArgs.custom[eID] = custF;
}
eplSetAdM(eID, custF?true:false);
}
function schemeLocal() {
if (document.location.protocol) {
protocol = document.location.protocol;
} else {
protocol = window.top.location.protocol;
}
if (protocol) {
if (protocol.indexOf(‘https’) !== -1) {
return ‘https’;
} else {
return ‘http’;
}
}
}
function getCookie(cname) {
var name = cname + “=”;
var ca = document.cookie.split(‘;’);
for (var i = 0; i -1);
var var2 = (window.location.href.search(“http://www.bnamericas.com”) -1);
if (var1 || var2)
{
$.ajax({url: ‘http://subscriber.bnamericas.com/Subscriber/legacy/public_site’, async: false, type: ‘GET’, success: function(data, textStatus, jqXHR) {
if (data === true)
{
url = window.location.href.replace(“Subscriber/”, “”);
if (var1)
{
url = url.replace(“http://web6.bnamericas.com”, “http://subscriber.bnamericas.com/Subscriber”);
} else {
url = url.replace(“http://www.bnamericas.com”, “http://subscriber.bnamericas.com/Subscriber”);
}
window.location.replace(url);
}
}});
}
return;
}
var vsrm2 = getCookie(“bnamericas_autologin”);
if (vsrm2 !== null)
{
var var1 = (window.location.href.search(“http://web6.bnamericas.com”) -1);
var var2 = (window.location.href.search(“http://www.bnamericas.com”) -1);
if (var1 || var2)
{
$.ajax({url: ‘http://www.bnamericas.com/Subscriber/legacy/public_site’, async: false, type: ‘GET’, success: function (data, textStatus, jqXHR) {
if (data === true)
{
url = window.location.href.replace(“Subscriber/”,””);
if (var1)
{
url = url.replace(“http://web6.bnamericas.com”, “http://subscriber.bnamericas.com/Subscriber”);
} else {
url = url.replace(“http://www.bnamericas.com”, “http://subscriber.bnamericas.com/Subscriber”);
}
window.location.replace(url);
}
}});
}
return;
}
}
);
//–
News
Banking
Electric Power
Info. Technology
Infrastructure
Insurance
Metals
Mining
Oil Gas
Petrochemicals
Privatization
Telecommunications
Water Waste
See all Banking News
Brazil November revenue haul at 7-year low
Early delinquencies at Brazilian banks decline
Citibank to offload operations in El Salvador
See all Electric Power News
Mexico awards 1st wholesale electricity supply permit
Enap, Mitsui ink power deal
Merry Christmas! We wish you a prosperous 2016 with BNamericas
See all Info. Technology News
Costa Rica’s Intel center takes strategic role
Brazil could fine Whatsapp US$3.2mn for legal snub
Mexican e-commerce to grow 108% over Xmas – consultancy
See all Infrastructure News
Italian group buys 50% of Brazil’s EcoRodovias
Inframérica plans US$250mn Brasília airport upgrade
Mexico’s ICA: We will miss US$31mn debt payment
See all Insurance News
El Salvadoran insurers put on rating watch negative by Fitch
Peruvian regulator approves AIR’s earthquake model
BTG Pactual confirms portfolio sale to Itaú for US$226mn
See all Metals News
LatAm steel exports to US tumble
CSN blast furnace shutdown leads to layoffs
Mexican probes target Chinese steel dumping
See all Mining News
Cost overruns affect 2 out of 3 mining projects
Ecuador enters large-scale mining with Mirador
Humala: Peru needs to allocate royalties more efficiently
See all Oil Gas News
Braskem confirms 5-year naphtha deal with Petrobras
OPEC says oil price rebound imminent
Japanese investors eyeing Mexico’s energy sector
See all Petrochemicals News
AT A GLANCE: Bolivia stepping on the gas
Algerian group entering Brazil ethanol market
Bolivia preparing for urea plant’s 2016 debut
See all Privatization News
Brazil’s Odebrecht selling waterworks arm, Maracanã stadium
Peru govt given key to sovereign wealth fund
Pemex told to sell Gasoductos de Chihuahua stake publicly
See all Telecommunications News
Virgin Mobile seals Peru license
Off with their heads! Macri replaces Kirchner telecom regulator chiefs
Digicel to deploy broadband for Barbados government
See all Water Waste News
Mexico postpones opening of region’s biggest water treatment plant
Peru to invest US$300mn in Lima water projects
Brazilian city to kick off US$230mn waterworks initiative
Companies
Banking
Electric Power
Info. Technology
Infrastructure
Insurance
Metals
Mining
Oil Gas
Petrochemicals
Telecommunications
Water Waste
See all Banking Companies
Visa
Visa Inc. operates retail electronic payments network worldwide. It facilitates global commerce through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses and government entities. It offers a range of branded payment product platforms, which its financial institution clients use to deliver credit, debit, prepaid and commercial programs to their customers. The company owns and operates VisaNet, a global processing platform that provides transaction processing services, primarily authorization, clearing and settlement, as well as related value-added services. Founded in 1958 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Visa provides payment options in 200 countries and territories.
BancoChile
Chile’s second largest bank Banco de Chile S.A. is a full service financial institution offering retail banking, wholesale banking, and treasury and money market services in Chile and the US. Its personal banking products include deposit services such as checking and savings accounts and time deposits, as well as loans (consumer, auto and mortgage) and money market accounts. The bank also offers lines of credit, credit card products and online banking services. It provides a wide range of treasury, risk management, and financial management products, including checking accounts, foreign currency accounts, and money market accounts, to corporate customers. In addition, the company provides foreign trade services and treasury banking services. Its subsidiaries offer additional services such as securities and insurance brokerage, mutual fund management, financial advisory, and factoring. Banco de Chile has a representative office in China; a network of more than 1,000 correspondent banks; and a strategic alliance with Citigroup. Banco de Chile’s shares are listed on the NYSE, Madrid and London stock exchanges. The bank is controlled by Quiñenco group through LQ Inversiones Financieras S.A.
Banco Daycoval
Brazilian lender Banco Daycoval S.A. focuses on serving corporate clients such as small and medium-sized enterprises. In 2006, it entered the retail lending segment, providing vehicle financing and loans to mid and low-income consumers. The bank also provides a range of insurance products, including life, health, car and risk insurance. Daycoval operates a network of 39 branches in 21 states throughout Brazil. The São Paulo-based bank was founded in 1968.
MoneyGram
MoneyGram is a US-based money transfer company which has a network comprised of 180,000 agent locations in 190 countries and territories. The company offers global money transfers, bill payment solutions, and financial paper products. MoneyGram was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
See all Electric Power Companies
Transener
Founded in 1993, Transener is an Argentine transmission company. It has a concession to operate 95% of Argentina’s high-voltage transmission network including 11,000km of lines and 33 transformation stations. The company also owns, through its subsidiary Transba, nearly 6,000km of high-voltage lines. Transener is responsible for supervising the construction, operation and maintenance of electrical systems carried out by independent transporters. In July 2010, contracts were signed for the construction of 500MW transmission lines that will connect cities Pico Truncado, La Esperanza, Rio Gallegos, Rio Turbio and El Calafate, and the civil works and electromechanical assembly of a new transformation station, ET Arroyo Cabral. Transener is controlled by the Citelec consortium.
Codensa
Codensa S.A. ESP is a Colombian electric company engaged in the distribution and sale of electric power. The company, an indirect subsidiary of Chilean power holding company Enersis S.A., is the largest distributor in the country, with a client base of over 2.8mn that represents 24% of national demand. It operates in 103 municipalities of Cundinamarca, eight municipalities of Boyacá and one municipality of Tolima. In 2015 the company completed the second phase of its 500kV Bacatá substation project. With the expansion of the substation, its capacity has been doubled to 900MVA, making it the largest in the country. Bacatá will transform 500kV to 115kV for direct distribution to Colombia’s SEN grid. Codensa is currently working on its 115kV Gran Sabana, Compartir and Terminal substation projects, to serve rising electricity demand in Bogotá and Cundinamarca.
Coelce
Brazilian power distributor Companhia Energética do Ceará (Coelce) serves 3.6mn clients in 184 towns and cities in the northeastern state of Ceará. Its concession area covers 148,825km2. The company operates 109 substations, 133,036km of distribution lines, and 5,069km of transmission linesBased in the city of Fortaleza, the company was created in 1971 after the merger of the four energy distributors that existed in Ceará state: Companhia de Eletricidade do Cariri (Celca), Companhia de Eletrificação Centro-Norte do Ceará (Cenort), Companhia Nordeste de Eletrificação de Fortaleza (Conefor), and the Companhia de Eletrificação do Nordeste (Cerne). Coelce is controlled by Enel Group through its local subsidiary Enel Brasil (formerly Endesa Brasil).
Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric S.A. is a French energy management specialist which provides power distribution network equipment, energy efficiency solutions and industrial automation services to the power and infrastructure sectors. Its main products and services include power monitoring and control, power supplies and distribution, smart energy networks, and prepaid power distribution systems. With a workforce of more than 130,000, the company operates in 190 countries worldwide, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela.
See all Info. Technology Companies
Red Hat
Red Hat is a US-based Linux operating systems provider founded in 1993. Solutions include operating platforms, sold through a subscription model, and a broad range of services including consulting, 24-hour support, training and Red Hat Enterprise Network. The company operates in three geographic regions: the Americas; Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA); and Asia Pacific. Red Hat sells its enterprise technologies through both direct and indirect channels of distribution: directly to customers through its sales force and web store, and indirectly through distributors and resellers. Its headquarters are located in Raleigh, North Carolina, with Latin American offices in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, and Mexico.
Trend Micro
Trend Micro is a Japanese provider of network antivirus and internet content security software and services. The Tokyo-based corporation has business units worldwide and provides antivirus products for personal computer clients, local area network (LAN) servers and internet servers, as well as integrated products to both corporate and individual customers. The company also provides outsourced managed security services, primarily to internet service providers and telecommunications carriers. It serves clients across a variety of sectors, including consumer goods, education, financial services, health care, IT services, manufacturing and retail. Trend Micro sells its software through systems integrators, resellers and OEMs. It is present in Latin America with offices in Brazil and Mexico.
AMD
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is a US semiconductor manufacturer with manufacturing facilities in the US, Europe and Asia. The company designs, manufactures and markets industry-standard digital integrated circuits that are used in PCs, workstations, servers, communications equipment and automotive and consumer electronics. AMD’s products consist of microprocessors, flash memory devices and personal connectivity solutions. AMD is present in Latin America and the Caribbean with offices in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Barbados.
NEC
NEC is a Japanese information technology and networking solutions provider. The company operates through six segments: IT services, IT products, network systems, social infrastructure, personal solutions, and electron devices business. IT services business supplies government agencies and private sector companies with a range of IT services covering systems construction, maintenance and support, and outsourcing. IT products business supplies products for the construction of IT systems, including servers, supercomputers, storage equipment and software. The network systems business provides equipment required in network construction to communications service providers and corporate customers, along with network control platform systems and operating services. The social infrastructure business supplies industrial systems that support social infrastructure, including broadcasting systems, artificial satellites and integrated CCTV surveillance systems for airports and local governments, as well as other security-related systems that enhance public safety. Personal solutions business offers mobile handsets, personal computers and other terminals, as well as BiGlOBE internet services. The electron devices business provides electronic components and other products mainly for manufacturers involved in digital consumer and automobiles. NEC markets its products worldwide and is present in Latin America with offices in Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela.
See all Infrastructure Companies
Log-In
Log-In Logistica Intermodal is a Brazilian logistics company which provides integrated solutions for port handling and door to door container freight forwarding by sea or rail. It also offers land intermodal terminals for handling and storing cargo, as well as logistics management and planning services. The firm offers a range of services including logistics planning and management, coastal shipping, container terminal, multimodal terminal, express train, and land transport services. Log-In is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Santos Brasil
Santos Brasil is a Brazilian terminal operator engaged in vehicle loading and unloading activity, container storage, as well as other port operations. Santos Brasil handles nearly 25% of the country’s container throughput. Its business units are located at ports along Brazil’s coast. It currently operates a complex of three container terminals — Tecon de Santos in São Paulo; Tecon Imbituba in Santa Catarina; and Tecon Vila do Conde in no Pará — in addition to providing port logistics services at Santos (SP), Guarujá (SP), São Bernardo do Campo (SP) and Imbituba (SC). The company was founded in 1997 and is based in São Paulo, Brazil.
Cemex México
Mexico’s Cemex is a global producer of cement and ready-mix concrete. It is the world’s largest building materials supplier and third largest cement producer. In addition, it is Mexico’s largest cement producer. Although its global activities are centered in North America and Europe, it also operates production facilities in South America, the Middle East and Asia. The firm currently operates on four continents, with 62 cement plants, 1997 ready-mix plants, 376 aggregates quarries, 223 land distribution centers and 71 marine terminals. Cemex’s main cement production facilities in the region are located in Mexico, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Panama, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. In 2015, the cement giant created Cemex Energía, an energy division seeking to develop a portfolio of 10 renewable energy projects in Mexico. The unit plans to generate 1,000MW over the next five years. Founded in 1906, the company is based in Monterrey, Mexico.
TPI
Triunfo Participações e Investimentos (TPI) is a Brazilian infrastructure firm created in 1999 by Constructora Triunfo to manage public service concessions. Following corporate restructuring in 2006, TPI is today controlled by Triunfo Holding de Participações and operates independently of Constructora Triunfo. TPI has operated highway concessions in the south and southeast of Brazil since 1995. The firm also has investments in service companies in the port and electricity generation sectors.
See all Insurance Companies
GNP
Mexico’s Grupo Nacional Provincial (GNP), one of the country’s largest insurance groups, boasts leading positions in the accidents and health insurance segments. The group’s services and products are structured in six areas: life insurance, medical insurance, car insurance, home insurance, business insurance and basic insurance. GNP is controlled by Grupo BAL, a privately held group of Mexican companies. The group was founded in 1901 and is based in Mexico City, Mexico.
UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group, the US’s largest health insurer, is a diversified health and well-being company serving more than 75mn people worldwide. In 2012, UnitedHealth Group Inc announced that it intended to acquire 90% of Amil Participacoes SA (Amil), Brazil’s biggest managed-care company. UnitedHealth was incorporated in 1977 and is headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota.
Zurich Insurance Group
Zurich Insurance Company Ltd. is a Swiss firm that offers life and PC insurance products and services to individuals and companies through a global network of subsidiaries and offices worldwide. It has over 50,000 employees serving customers in more than 170 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela. In 2011, the company signed a 25-year alliance in Latin America with Spanish banking group Santander, under which Zurich acquired a 51% stake in the life insurance, pension and general insurance operations of Santander in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. In 2014, the Brazilian unit of the company started to offer capitalization products to the corporate segment, mainly using channels such as banks, retailers and associations. That same year the Swiss company was named as the provider of a US$600mn surety bond to the consortium responsible for expanding the Panama Canal, Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC). In early-2015, Colombia’s financial sector regulator, Superfinanciera, approved the incorporation of Zurich Colombia Seguros. Zurich Insurance Company was founded in 1872 and is based in Zurich.
Porto Seguro
Brazilian insurer Porto Seguro, the country’s largest auto insurer, offers a range of insurance services and products, including automobile, health, PC, life and cargo insurance, to individual, corporate and government customers. Founded in 1945 and based in São Paulo, Porto Seguro was created to concentrate the shareholding control of Porto Seguro Companhia de Seguros Gerais and its subsidiaries, aiming to facilitate the development of other insurance-related activities. In 2013, the company acquired Azul Seguros, the local unit of French insurer AXA. Besides its Brazilian operations, the company has a subsidiary in Uruguay. Porto Seguro Seguros del Uruguay was formed in 1995 and is one of the major players in the country’s private insurer market, mainly focus on car, fire and cargo insurance.
See all Metals Companies
Hochschild
Hochschild Mining plc is a London-based, Peruvian precious metals miner engaged in the exploration, mining, processing and trading of silver and gold. The company owns two operating mines in southern Peru: Arcata, a silver-gold operation in Arequipa department, which has been producing since 1964, and Pallancata, a silver-gold mine in Ayacucho department that started to produce in 2007. Its third operation in the country, Ares, was suspended in the second quarter of 2014. Hochschild also has a 51% stake in the San José mine in Argentina’s Santa Cruz province, a joint venture with Toronto-based McEwen Mining where Hochschild is the operator. The company is currently developing the Inmaculada project, made up of 40 mining concessions in Peru, and the Volcán gold project in northern Chile’s Maricunga gold belt. Exploration work is also focused on its Riverside Resources JV gold project in Mexico and Lara Exploration’s Corina project in Peru, where the company plans to drill in 2015 after negotiating land access agreements. Hochschild was founded in 2006 and is based in Lima. It also has offices in Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Peru.
CAP
CAP is a Chilean iron ore and steel group. Its Huachipato complex (CSH), located in central-southern Biobio region (VIII), is the country’s largest steel plant with the capacity to produce nearly 1.5Mt. In addition, its subsidiary Compañía Minera del Pacífico (CAP Mineria) operates iron ore mines and facilities in valleys Huasco, Elqui, and Copiapó, in northern Chile, becoming in the main producer and exporter of iron ore and pellets in the country. CAP sells its products to construction businesses, steel distributors, metal container manufacturers for canned goods and farming industries, drawing wire producers, grinding ball plants, pipes and profiles industries, armories and the copper mining industry. It also participates in the steel processing business through its units Cintac and Intasa, which in turn control assets in Peru and Argentina. CAP’s infrastructure unit includes the Cleanairtech Sudamérica desalination plant, in Chile’s Atacama region, the Tecnocap transmission line, and Las Losas port. The company was founded in 1946 and is based in Santiago.
Ahmsa
Mexican steelmaker Altos Hornos de México (Ahmsa) produces everything from basic raw materials to finished higher value-added products. Its flat steel products include hot rolled coil, wide plate, cold rolled coil, tinplate, and tin-free steel. The company produces 3.5Mt/y of liquid steel and supplies some 50% of domestic steel plate demand. Ahmsa owns and operates, through its mining arm Micare, the Rio Escondido steaming coal mine and the La Esmeralda coking coal mine. It also has coal and iron ore mines. In 2007, Ahmsa started its Fénix project aiming to increase the company’s annual steel production capacity, improve efficiency and expand the range of products produced. It entails a number of development projects, including the Alto Horno 6 furnace, a new electricity substation and air separation plant. At the end of 2014, the Fénix project has a 94% advance. Worldwide, Ahmsa controls two companies in Israel: Arava Mines, engaged in the exploration and development of a copper mine; and Aqwise Water Technologies, focused on producing technology for sewage treatment. In the US it owns MATT Biz, which promotes the strategic presence of the group, while in the Netherlands holds a 80% stake in Moonen Yachts, a luxury yacht builder. The company is a subsidiary of Grupo Acerero del Norte (GAN) and is based in Monclova, in Mexico’s Coahuila state.
ALCOA Aluminio Brasil
Alcoa Alumínio, the Brazilian subsidiary of US aluminum giant Alcoa, produces primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum, and alumina. In addition to aluminum products and components, including flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, Alcoa also markets Alcoa wheels, fastening systems, precision and investment castings, and building systems. The company serves the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation and industrial markets. It has branches in several Brazilian states, with a central office in São Paulo, and more than 6,000 employees throughout Latin America. Alcoa produces approximately one fifth of all primary aluminum manufactured in Brazil.
See all Mining Companies
Shougang Perú
Shougang Hierro Perú S.A.A., a subsidiary of Chinese steel group Shougang Corp., is Peru’s only iron ore producer. The Lima-based company operates the Marcona mine in Ica region, which is undergoing a US$1bn expansion to produce 10Mt/y by 2016. Shougang is one of the country’s largest investors in Peru’s mining sector, and has been working on its mine expansion since 2009. Despite a three week strike that ended in September, iron ore sales volumes rose 2% to 10.69Mt in 2014. Shougang Hierro’s proven and probable iron ore reserves total 2.09Bt
Kinross Gold
Canada’s Kinross Gold is a gold mining company with operations worldwide. In Latin America, Kinross owns the Maricunga mine in Chile and Paracatu in Brazil, the largest gold mine in the country. The company also owns the La Coipa mine in Chile where activities were suspended in 2013 as the mine reached the end of its life. That same year, Kinross submitted an environmental impact assessment in order to expand the mine operation. The firm is evaluating the potential of the Catalina and District targets and the viability of La Coipa phase 7. The miner also holds a 25% stake in the Cerro Casale project, one of the world’s largest undeveloped gold and copper deposits, located in Chile’s Atacama region (III) and in which Toronto-based Barrick Gold holds 75%. Kinross Gold’s Fruta del Norte (FDN) project in Ecuador was suspended in 2013 due to the inability to agree with the local government on certain key economic and legal terms, after more than two years of negotiations. The company sold the project to Vancouver-based Lundin Gold in 2014 for US$240mn. The company also has operating mines and projects in Russia, Ghana, Mauritania and the US and reached record production of 2.71Moz of gold equivalent in 2014. Kinross Gold was founded in 1993 and is based in Toronto.
Southern Hemisphere
Australia’s Southern Hemisphere Mining Ltd. operates in Chile through its wholly owned subsidiary Minera Hemisferio Sur S.C.M., which holds the Chitigua copper project located 270km northeast of the port city of Antofagasta. The company also owns 11 other exploration project areas, principally prospective for copper-gold targets, including Los Pumas (manganese), El Arrayán, Las Santas and San José. It is currently focusing its activities on exploration works at the Los Rulos and Llahuin copper-gold projects in Coquimbo region (IV). Southern Hemisphere Mining was incorporated in 2005 and is based in West Perth, Australia.
EcuaCorriente
EcuaCorriente (ECSA), an Ecuadorian subsidiary of China’s CRCC-Tongguan Investment, holds some 62,000ha in Ecuador including the Mirador, Mirador Norte, Panantza and San Carlos copper and gold properties. The Mirador copper-gold project is located in southeastern Zamora Chinchipe province. A feasibility study has been completed on the property, outlining 30,000t/d throughput to last more than 19 years. EcuaCorriente is based in Quito, Ecuador.
See all Oil Gas Companies
Baker Hughes
Baker Hughes is a supplier of oilfield services, products, technology and systems to the worldwide oil and natural gas industry. The US company operates in more than 80 countries, helping customers find, evaluate, drill, produce, transport and process hydrocarbon resources. The company operates in four geographic market regions: North America; Latin America; Europe/Africa/Russia Caspian; and Middle East/Asia Pacific. In 2011, the company opened a research and technology center in Rio de Janeiro, aiming to develop solutions for deep water and pre-salt reservoir operations. In Mexico, Baker Hughes has a 35-year production enhancement contract signed in 2013 with state oil firm Pemex in the Soledad block, located in Veracruz state. Its other pivotal market in the region is Colombia, where in 2013 it was awarded multiple contracts to provide well construction services. Based in Houston, Texas, Baker Hughes was founded in 1987 after the merger of Baker International and Hughes Tool Company.
Pan American Energy
Argentine firm Pan American Energy LLC (PAE), a subsidiary of Bridas Corp., is an oil and gas exploration and development company with experience drilling offshore and in inhospitable terrains. It holds oil and gas reserves in sedimentary basins in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. The company’s exploratory acreage includes blocks covering more than 8,061km2, including the Golfo San Jorge, Neuquina, Noroeste and Austral basins in Argentina. In 2014, PAE signed a contract that ends its claim over the nationalization of EP company Chaco in 2009. It is currently developing a 38-well campaign which is expected to cost US$500mn and could produce 3Mm3/day of gas, according to company estimates. Pan American Energy is the second largest producer of oil and gas in the country, accounting for some 17% of Argentine production. The company is owned by BP plc (60%) and Bridas Corporation (40%).
Ancap
Created in 1931, Uruguay’s state oil company Ancap is engaged in the exploration, production, transport, refinery, storage and sale of hydrocarbons and derivatives. The firm is also active in the petrochemical (lubricants), bi