O Golpe – Brics, Dólar e Petróleo Euclides_Mance_O_Golpe_Brics_Dolar_e_Petroleo | Page 379

NOTAS E CITAÇÕES NOS IDIOMAS ORIGINAIS
sions held by CDS showed deposits of oil and/or gas. Wade attributed inappropriate
drilling techniques used in prior exploration as “masking” the true content of the
wells. He also said that the data from prior exploration in the area was fragmented,
and that it had only recently been put together to provide a more complete picture
of potential reserves. […] Wade speculated that the revenues from natural gas alone
could exceed those generated by the Itaipu dam.
123 DCM asked Wade how much CDS has told the GOP regarding its find in the
Chaco. Wade replied that he had recently met with the Vice President, but that he
had not yet revealed the extent of the reserves he says are present. Wade stated: “This
meeting is me saying `Heads up’ to Uncle Sam. We want you to be telling the Para-
guayans: `We know who they are. Treat them well.’” Wade was cautiously optimistic
when assessing the GOP’s reaction to the find. Wade complained to DCM that Min-
istry of Public Works officials, including Vice Minister of Mines and Energy Hector
Ruiz Diaz, have repeatedly given the press inaccurate information about resources in
the Chaco. Morrison noted that CDS has purposefully attempted to maintain a low
profile during the project, quietly laying the groundwork for its exploration program
and preferring actions to rhetoric.
124 Wade predicted to DCM that after intensified exploration in coming weeks,
CDS would “soon” begin pumping oil, and that under the terms of Paraguay’s hydro-
carbons law, the state-owned petroleum entity PETROPAR will buy the oil from the
company for market price at the well head. It would then be trucked from the Chaco
to PETROPAR’s refinery in Asuncion. If sufficient quantities of oil are discovered,
Wade stated that he has access to financing sufficient to build a diesel refinery in the
Chaco. If the company’s gas fields prove large enough to market commercially, Wade
also discussed the possibility of bringing in foreign capital to construct a Gas-to-
Liquid (GTL) plant closer to Asuncion.
125 During an earlier meeting with Econoff, CDS President James Wade and his
associate Daniel Morrison were frank about some of the potential challenges facing
their project. Wade lamented the lack of institutional capacity within the Paraguay-
an government, stating his doubts that the Ministry of Interior possessed the capac-
ity to even interpret his drilling reports. Morrison also told Econoff that some local
environmental groups were reflexively opposed to any hydrocarbon exploration.
Defending the thoroughness of CDS’ environmental impact assessments, Morrison
told Econoff “We documented plants and animals that the environmental groups
didn’t even know about.”
126 During his meeting with DCM, Wade noted that in addition to selling his
project to prospective investors, he was tasked with “selling Paraguay.” Morrison
noted that the recent expropriation of land around the community of Puerto Casado
(reftel) sent a bad signal to business people interested in investing in the country,
stating “It was the worst thing the GOP could have done.”
127 CDS has retained both local legal counsel and a government relations spe-
cialist [...] to help the company navigate the local bureaucracy. In a meeting with
Emboffs, Morrison stated that CDS had not been the target of extortionists, and that
the company would not pay bribes. In part, Wade believes that many Paraguayans,
including officials, were dismissive of oil and gas potential because of past explora-
tion failures and prevailing myths about the inaccessibility of the Chaco region. For
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