“Us we have tried in writing and formally to request the renegotiation of the contract with Petrobras“, the Brazilian state oil company, said the Bolivian Minister of Hydrocarbons and Energy, Franklin Molina, quoted in a statement this Thursday.
But “the response has not been what was expected,” added the official.
These statements came after the announcement, on Tuesday, that Bolivia had reduced the volume of natural gas sent to Brazil, something that Bolsonaro called “orchestrated”.
“Bolivia cut 30% of our gas to deliver it to Argentina,” said the president, in relation to an agreement signed in April between the two countries for the trade of that resource.
“If you have to buy the gas elsewhere, it’s five times more expensive. Who is going to pay the bill?” Bolsonaro added, a day after ousting the new president of Petrobras amid repeated fuel price hikes.
The Bolivian government, for its part, points to the de facto government of the right-wing Jeanine Añez (2019-2020) as responsible for an addendum to the contract signed in March 2020.
For Molina, the agreement “harms Bolivia” and “generates economic damage for YPFB“, the state hydrocarbons company.
In addition, while Petrobras pays Bolivia between 6 and 7 dollars per million BTU of gas, the private companies Compass and Totalenergies Brasil would be willing to pay 15 to 18 dollars for the same volume, the minister assured.
Argentina, on the other hand, buys Bolivian gas at an average price of 12 dollars per million BTU, a third of the international price of liquefied natural gas.
According to experts, Bolivia could have to pay millions in penalties for breaching the contract with Brazil, as happened in 2018.
But if Petrobras is found to have ignored an alleged request to renegotiate, the case could end up in arbitration.
Brazil consumes about 60% of the natural gas exported by Bolivia, according to official data.
Source: Ambito
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