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Bolivia races to complete energy firms' takeover
LA PAZ
Petroleumworld.com, April 30, 2008
Bolivia's leftist government said on Monday it was on track to take control of three privatized energy companies by buying back shares in the firms as part of a nationalization drive started in 2006.President Evo Morales has set April 30 as the deadline for the takeover of Andina, controlled by Spain's Repsol YPF (REP.MC: Quote, Profile, Research); Chaco, held by BP Plc (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and Pan American Energy; and pipeline company Transredes, controlled by Ashmore Energy International Ltd (ASHM.L: Quote, Profile, Research).
The government is also negotiating the buyout of storage and fuel transport firm CLHB, controlled by German and Peruvian firms.
"We're moving forward as scheduled and we hope to have good news," Santos Ramirez, president of state-run energy company YPFB, told reporters.
Andina, Chaco and Transredes are mixed companies created during a privatization drive in the mid-1990s while CLHB, also known as Bolivia's Hydrocarbon Logistics Company, is a private firm formed later to run YPFB's old storage operations.
If the government plan is implemented, YPFB will take a stake of at least 50 percent plus one share in the firms.
Government sources said Morales planned to celebrate the companies' takeover to mark May 1 Labor Day -- the second anniversary of the energy sector nationalization, which raised the tax burden on foreign firms and made them mere service providers to YPFB.
Bolivia has South America's second-largest natural gas reserves, after Venezuela, and supplies neighboring Argentina and Brazil with the fuel.
Story reporting by Ana Maria Fabbri; writing by Helen Popper; editing by Braden Reddall from Reuters
Reuters 29 04 08
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