UPDATE 2-Bolivia to sign natgas deal with Paraguay, Uruguay

(Recasts, updates to include Uruguay)

By Eduardo Garcia

LA PAZ, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Bolivia will sign on Tuesday agreements to export natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas to Paraguay and Uruguay, an energy ministry official told Reuters.

The official did not provide details of timing or quantities, but said that high ranking officials from Uruguay and Paraguay will meet on Tuesday afternoon in La Paz with Bolivian Energy Minister Saul Avalos to sign the deals.

Although Bolivia has been struggling to meet the demand for natural gas of neighboring Argentina and Brazil, the official said the Andean country is confident hydrocarbons output will increase significantly next year.

"We'll produce more through increasing output in some existing fields, but also some new ones," the energy official told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Bolivia, the poorest country in South America, produces about 40 million cubic meters of natural gas per day, exporting most of it to Brazil and Argentina.

Both Paraguay and Uruguay are rich in hydro-electric power but import all their fossil fuels.

Leftist President Evo Morales nationalized Bolivia's energy industry in May 2006, seeking to boost state revenue from the country's vast natural gas reserves, the second largest in the region after Venezuela's.