Chile's state oil and gas company Empresa Nacional del Petroleo SA is considering purchasing Colombian fuel company Terpel SA's Chilean assets, the energy minister was quoted as saying by ValorFuturo newswire.

Enap, as the state-owned company is known, is working to move away from its reliance on refining to become a diversified energy company.

"Our objective is to value the company, incorporate private capital, and in that sense, we're not closed off to any projects that might be a good investment," Energy Minister Ricardo Raineri was quoted as saying.

Earlier this week Chilean fuel and forestry conglomerate Empresas Copec SA (COPEC.SN) paid $240 million for an indirect stake in Terpel. Copec, however, plans to sell Terpel's Chilean assets to be in compliance with competition regulations. Copec's market participation in Chile already borders 65%.

In 2007, Terpel entered the Chilean market after buying 206 gas stations from Spanish-Argentine oil company Repsol YPF SA (REP, REP.MC) for $210 million.

Brazilian state-run energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro S/A (PBR, PETR4.BR), or Petrobras, may also be interested in snapping up Terpel's assets, analysts said.

Petrobras recently bought the Esso Chile gas station chain.

-By Anthony Esposito, Dow Jones Newswires; 56-2-715-8929; anthony.esposito@dowjones.com
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