According to the text, the agreement will boost investments in fuel exploration and exploitation in Bolivian territory.
The document was signed on Tuesday by Bolivia’s Minister of Hydrocarbons and Energy, Franklin Molina, and Brazil’s President of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira de Oliveira.
The signing took place after a bilateral ministerial council meeting in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, in the presence of Bolivian and Brazilian Presidents Luis Arce and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, respectively.
Bolivia plans to have Petrobras participate in the development of exploration and exploitation plans, in the context of the strategy promoted by Yacimientos Petrolófilos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) in the search for new gas deposits.
The document states that the bilateral technical committee will evaluate and implement hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation projects in the Bolivia basins.
Likewise, the use of existing or new infrastructure to transport fuel via pipelines and thus meet the demand for natural gas in Brazil will be investigated.
According to YPFB Vice President Ariel Montaño, Bolivia currently has 54 exploration projects throughout the national territory and produces 32.4 million cubic meters per day.
“With projects starting in 2028 and over five years, we intend to exceed production to 40 cubic meters per day,” he explained in a presentation during the Bolivian-Brazilian Business Forum held Tuesday in Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
According to both parties, the third addition to the MoU on energy affairs will enhance the two countries’ ability to leverage their natural resources and improve energy security in the region.
At the end of June, Molina and Silveira reaffirmed in their meeting the importance of cooperation in the energy field, and stressed the mutual commitment to promoting common agendas that enhance sustainable development and energy security in the region.
One of the points discussed at the time, it was reported, concerned negotiating a memorandum for the upstream plan (exploration, drilling, exploitation and delivery to the refinery), as well as encouraging investments in the sector.
“Cooperation with Brazil, a country with extensive experience and resources in the energy sector, can provide Bolivia with the tools and support necessary to maximize its hydrocarbon potential,” reads a founding text from the Hydrocarbons and Energy Portfolio.
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