La Paz, June 18 (EFECOM).- The president of the state-owned Yacimientos Petrolófilos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB), Armin Dorgathen, announced this Tuesday that Bolivia can transport natural gas from Argentina to Brazil as an “important option” and assured that the Andean country has a consolidated system “without competition.”
“Starting in October of this administration, Bolivia will be able to transport 3 million cubic meters per day (MMm3d) of Argentine gas to the Brazilian market,” said Dorgathen at a press conference in the city of La Paz.
The manager of YPFB Transporte, Oscar Guzmán, stated at the conference that Bolivia can provide “an immediate, efficient and competitive solution to transport that gas.”
The president of YPFB clarified that the offer to lease the facilities to Argentina for export to Brazil has not yet been accepted.
“It is simply an opportunity. We are showing all the infrastructure to be able to do this work,” he said.
Dorgathen stated that there are interested parties in Argentina and Brazil to accept the Bolivian offer, but that regulatory standards and economic details must be resolved in both countries.
Meanwhile, Argentina is advancing with the consolidation of reversal projects for the northern gas pipeline system and the implementation of others such as the Presidente Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline (GPNK), which will allow the transportation of greater quantities of gas to Brazil.
The president of YPFB added that Bolivia has the capacity to send, in the first instance, 3 million cubic meters per day and then gradually increase up to 20 million cubic meters per day, as long as the interest of both neighboring countries grows.
In the last two decades, natural gas was Bolivia’s star export product and the support of its economic growth, with Brazil and Argentina as the main markets, but in recent years there has been a decrease in production and income. .
Bolivia’s natural gas production went from 56.6 million Mmcd in 2016, with an oil income of about 1,633.99 million euros, to 31.9 Mmcd in 2023, reaching an income of about 1,906.79 million euros, according to official information released last December.
In April, the president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, was criticized by the opposition after saying that “gas has run out” in the country, blaming previous administrations for this, and stated that his government “is just returning to exploration.” to increase gas reserves.
For its part, the state oil company assured that, although the Andean country’s gas production decreased, the energy supply was enough to cover its internal demand and its export commitments to Argentina and Brazil.
The Bolivian offer occurs in the midst of a complicated relationship with Argentina due to ideological differences and after statements in April by the Argentine Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich, who denounced the alleged presence of 700 Iranian soldiers in Bolivia.
The Bolivian Foreign Ministry rejected the Argentine minister’s statements in a statement and demanded that she retract them.
However, the president of YPFB said that political discrepancies have nothing to do with this offer of gas transportation, which is a “purely commercial” issue, he noted. EFECOM
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