Spain's Repsol to invest $1.6 bln in Bolivia natgas

Spain's Repsol to invest $1.6 bln in Bolivia natgas
Wed Sep 16, 2009 2:18pm EDT

By Carlos Quiroga

LA PAZ, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Spain's oil major Repsol (REP.MC) has pledged to invest nearly $1.6 billion to boost natural gas output in Bolivia over the next five years, the head of Bolivia's state-run energy company YPFB said on Wednesday.

"In the next five years, they (Repsol) have agreed to invest, on average, $300 million a year," YPFB President Carlos Villegas said in an audio recording released by the company.

After a meeting with Repsol officials in Madrid on Tuesday, leftist Bolivian President Evo Morales said Repsol had agreed to speed up investments in Bolivia.

"In early October, at the latest, Repsol executives will be in Bolivia to make an official announcement regarding this agreement ... which they are obliged to comply with it," said Villegas.

More:
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN1650947320090916?rpc=401&

The article would be more complete if it described under what terms did Repsol agree to invest. Two years ago the Morales government nationalized the oil and gas industry. So the question is, is Bolivia reversing this nationalization after realizing their state oil company lacks the means to develop their gas fields?

Repsol spend big on Bolivian gas production
September 19, 2009 by Alan Harten

Just one day after Spain squashed Bolivia’s €60 million national debt repayments. Major Spanish energy company Repsol has said it is to invest over $1.5 billion in Bolivia in natural gas expiration and production.

The company has committed to drill seven new wells and a massive expansion of a gas processing plant. This according to Carlos Villegas president of the new Bolivian arm of Repsol who will be greeting the company’s highest executives when they visit Bolivia next month to see more themselves where their money will be spent.

The investment is in direct response to a request from Bolivian President Evo Morales who asked Repsol if they would dramatically increase their investment in the country.

http://www.spanishnews.es/20090919-repsol-spend-big-on-bolivian-gas-production/id=1026/

Bolivia’s Morales Seeks Partners for Investment, Not ‘Bosses’
By Emma Ross-Thomas

Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Bolivian President Evo Morales said companies that respect the law and don’t “conspire” against the government are welcome in his country.

Bolivia needs investors and partners rather than “bosses,” Morales told a conference of business leaders and politicians in Madrid. The government is seeking talks with companies that want to invest in exploiting Bolivia’s lithium deposits, he said.

“We need partners, companies that respect the Bolivian rules,” Morales said. “Companies that come to invest are welcome, but not to do politics.”

Bolivia has about 49 percent of the world’s lithium reserves, according to a U.S. Geological Survey report. It also holds the second-largest natural-gas reserves in South America, after Venezuela, and Spain’s Repsol YPF SA is among energy companies operating there.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aX1K6Z8E27Bc

Repsol 'Totally Redeems' Itself With 15th Discovery This Year
By Kirsten Korosec | Sep 17, 2009

Remember that winter of discontent when Repsol YPF downgraded its proved reserves by 25 percent? The Spanish company’s recent spate of oil and natural gas discoveries have helped erase those bad memories.

If Repsol manages to keep this up, we might just forget about its Argentina problem too. The company has been a part of more than a dozen oil and gas discoveries this year including offshore Brazil, Venezuela and Sierra Leone.

The energy company is also planning to invest $1.6 billion in an effort to boost Bolivia’s natural gas output, Reuters reported late Wednesday.

Brazil, Sierra Leone, Venezuela and Bolivia all hold varying levels of risk for a company like Repsol. The energy company has some experience dealing with politically unpredictable countries. Just three years ago, Bolivian President Evo Morales seized the country’s oil and gas fields and refineries from foreign companies. Morales nationalized Bolivia’s oil and gas industry and in late 2006 negotiated new contracts with some foreign companies including Repsol and Petrobras.

Repsol, once crippled by depleted reserves, is willing to take on the risk in hopes of hitting it big. And so far, that strategy is paying off.

More:
http://industry.bnet.com/energy/10002059/repsol-totally-redeems-itself-with-15th-discovery-this-year/