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Bolivia and Argentina close to an agreement on gas prices
Reuters
LA PAZ
Petroleumworld.com 06 13 06
Bolivia and Argentina are close to an agreement to significantly raise prices for natural gas that Bolivia exports to its southern neighbor, President Evo Morales said on Sunday, according to an official report.Argentina currently pays $3.4 per million British Thermal Units (BTU), and has agreed to pay an additional $1.5 per million BTU, but Bolivia is still hoping to strike a deal for a $2 raise, Morales told a farmers meeting, the official ABI news agency said.
Morales, speaking in the town of Caracolla some 120 miles (200 km) south of the capital, said he spoke with Argentine President Nestor Kirchner on Sunday to establish the initial agreement.
Bolivia, which has the second biggest natural gas reserves in South America, nationalized its energy industry in May and forced its two biggest customers, Argentina and Brazil, to renegotiate the price they pay for Bolivian natural gas.
Brazil and Bolivia have yet to come to an agreement on a new price formula. Brazil, which imports 26 million cubic meters a day of natural gas from Bolivia, has said its industry will lose competitiveness if it has to pay more for energy.
Brazil's state oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA: Quote, Profile, Research) (PBR.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is the biggest investor in Bolivia's energy sector.
Morales said Argentina's Planning Minister Julio de Vido would travel on Monday to La Paz to finalize the deal.
In Argentina, De Vido's spokesman said he could not confirm that the minister was traveling.
Bolivia exports to Argentina between five million and six million cubic meters a day of natural gas, and has committed to sending 7.7 million cubic meters per day through 2007. In exchange for paying higher prices, Argentina has been trying to negotiate for a larger supply of the fuel from Bolivia.
Reuters 12 06 06
Copyright © Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
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