Government technical staff of South American nations met on Sunday to discuss the terms of the Southern Gas Pipeline, ahead of the ministerial meeting scheduled to convene on Tuesday on the topic, Venezuela's Energy Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

Technocrats from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Venezuela will look at the social and environmental impact, tariffs, engineering and regulatory aspects of the project, ahead of its formal launch of the project in August.

They will also formalize Bolivia's membership in the project.

The planned pipeline, which runs a full length of at least 8,000 km, will begin with a stretch linking Venezuela and Brazil, and then it will continue to pass through Paraguay, Uruguay and reach Argentina at length.

The ministerial meeting on Tuesday will be attended by julia de fido, Argentina's minister of plan, public investment and service; Silas Rondeau, Brazil's minister of energy and mining; Andres solus, Bolivia's energy minister; and Rafael Ramirez, Venezuela's energy minister.

The project will allow Venezuela to share its mineral wealth with its neighbors, said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez during a visit to Panama on Friday.

Source: Xinhua