  |
PDVSA, YPFB begin feasibility studies for exploration in Bolivia
Platts
RIO
Petroleumworld.com 07 26 06
State-run PDVSA of Venezuela and Bolivia's YPFB said they began feasibility
studies for oil and gas exploration in Bolivia on Monday, as the companies tie
up partnership that Bolivian officials said would invest $1.2 billion in
prospecting the country's little-explored northern region.A PDVSA official was more guarded when asked about potential investments,
saying that the amount of exploration will depend on the feasibility studies
at four potential areas in northern Bolivia the companies are seeking to
explore, and didn't give a timeline for the studies, according to Bolivian
state news agency ABI.Most of the country's estimated 48 trillion cubic feet of gas is located
in the southwestern lowlands of the country. In addition, according to a PDVSA
official cited by ABI, PDVSA has begun shipments of a total of 200,000 barrels
of diesel oil at discounted prices to Bolivia.PDVSA and YPFB plan to sign by the end of the year a deal creating a
joint-venture Petro Andina which will operate 15 service stations in Bolivia.
PDVSA's planned investments in Bolivia, ranging from large new gas exploration
to diesel supply and operating Bolivian service stations, could help fill a
gap left by Brazil's Petrobras, which has cancelled new Bolivia investments
following the May 1 nationalization of Bolivia's oil and gas industry.
Petrobras said earlier it would stop supplying Brazilian diesel to Bolivia and
would leave its fuel retailing sector.For more news, request a free trial to Platts Oilgram News at
http://oilgramnews.platts.com or subscribe now at
http://www.platts.com/infostore/product_info.php?cPath=1_29&products_id=29
Platts 25 07 06
Copyright ©2006 Platts. All Rights Reserved.
Your
feedback is important to us!
We invite all our readers to share with us
their views and comments about this article.
Write to editor@petroleumworld.com
Any
question or suggestions, please write to:
editor@petroleumworld.com
Best
Viewed with IE
5.01+
Windows
NT 4.0, '95, '98 and ME +/ 800x600 pixels