Petroandina to invest $883m in Bolivia
Petroandina, a joint enterprise formed by the Bolivian and Venezuelan state energy companies, plans to invest $883 million to finance oil and natural gas exploration and production in Bolivia, a top official said.
Energy Minister Carlos Villegas announced the figure yestereay during a press conference to discuss Petroandina's operating contracts, which the Bolivian Congress is set to vote on shortly.
According to Villegas, Petroandina will invest $242.2 million in the western Andean province of La Paz and another $646.1 million in central and southern Bolivia.
Petroandina is 60% owned by Bolivia's YPFB and 40% owned by Venezuela's PdVSA, one of the world's 10 biggest oil and gas companies in terms of total reserves, said news agency EFE.
In the southern part of the country, where probable reserves of gas and oil have been identified, the exploration efforts will last between three and five years, while in La Paz province an evaluation of that area must be carried out before exploratory work can begin.
Villegas said Bolivian President Evo Morales wants Congress to approve these contracts immediately as a tribute to the city of La Paz, which on Wednesday celebrates the 199th anniversary of its uprising against colonial rule, an event that touched off the liberation of South America from Spain.
Morales is scheduled to meet Friday in the Amazonian town of Riberalta with his Venezuelan and Brazilian counterparts, Hugo Chavez and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, respectively, to announce a series of road projects.