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La Paz - Bolivia Edition of March 28, 2004 |
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BUSINESSES
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| River Plate crisis: Bolivia has
gas reserves but it is caught between political, union and social opposition. |
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Chile looks for power sources |
Santiago of Chile: the originating power provision of Argentina is threatened cuts
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The Press and agencies
The
government of Chile admitted that it is worried about Argentina's decision to
ration its natural gas exports, which will force the transandean government to consider other sources
of power. Bolivia, which
has sufficient gas reserves, has considerable internal
opposition to export. The Chilean minister of economy, Jorge |
Rodriguez, declared yesterday that
he is worried about the Argentine decision to rationalize his gas exports.
"we
return to Santiago worried. We are seeing
a problem that, lamentably, is going to affect the commercial
interchange between Chile and Argentina in the future", said Rodriguez.
The
Chilean authority was in Buenos Aires Friday to inquire in detail of
the effects that the measurement could have in Chile, that is the main
Argentine gas buyer.
Also, it said that "in this measure in which
Argentina begins to restrict exports to Chile of the natural gas that we
have purchased from Argentina, there is now an issue of national
security which will force to consider other more secure sources of power".
The rationing
The
president of Argentina, Nestor Kirchner, released a resolution Thursday by
which "the export of natural gas which is useful for internal supply is rationed", with the purpose of
avoiding a crisis in the generation, distribution and provision of electricity in Argentina.
Starting Monday, the population of Argentina will undergo the rationing of electrical energy between 06:00 and 18.00.
The
rationing caused restlessness in Chile, which is the main buyer of Argentinian gas.
Chile daily receives 22 million cubic meters of Argentina gas
via five pipelines constructed in the Nineties.
Fiscal measures
On
the other hand, the Argentinian government also announced that it is studying the
possibility of raising the tarrifs that are applied to the
exports of petroleum and gas to face the present power crisis.
The head of
Argentinian Cabinet, Alberto Fernandez, admitted that there is a
consideration to raise the tarrifs by 20 to 30 percent, as reported by
the newspaper The Bugler, of Buenos Aires, which interprets the measures
as "more pressure" of the government on the gas
companies, as they are considered the source of the current problems.
With the
proposed tarrif, the
Argentine government would look to elevate the tax costs of the
producers of the fuel sector such that they would favor internal supply, or that
they might intensify the tasks of exploration
and production to satisfy both demands.
The Argentine government
accused the gas companies of not having sufficiently invested and preserved
domestic fuel reserves.
In answer to this accusation, the gas
companies under concession by the government, stated that
from 1993 to date they have invested 3,400 million dollars more than was
aticipated under their contracts.
Bolivia and the key to the gas
As
of May, Repsol YPF and Petrobras will export four million daily cubic
meters of natural gas to Argentina, that has begun to undergo a power
crisis.
The fields San Alberto and San Antonio, located in Tarija,
will be those that will provide the power to the Argentine north,
according to the announcements of the two companies, owners of those
deposits.
The rejections
Nevertheless,
the political parties in Bolivia with parliamentary representation
rejected the sale of natural gas to Argentina as of May, because they
anticipate that the power will simply be re-exported to Chile.
Workers
Union Bolivian (COB) and Committee of Defense of Patrimony National
(Codepanal) added initiatives in this line and warned to government
that if persists in taking ahead the project it will unleash another "red
October" similar to the one of 2003, that ended with the resignation
of then president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, during the "war of the
gas". [dan: the name Red October refers to an
incident last fall in which nearly 100 protesters were gunned down by
police in the central Plaza de San Francisco in one of the bloodiest
incidents in recent Bolivian history]
Meanwhile, the Bolivian chancellor, Juan Ignacio Siles, said
that the power crisis can be a "tool of important negotiation" and an
aid to recover the sea. [dan: historical
footnote... among the many follies of Bolivian leaders of years gone by
was the loss of a strip of land to the Chileans in 1884 that used to
connect Bolivia to the Pacific Ocean. The Bolivians have never
forgiven the Chileans for taking that, and it provides strong color to
all political, social and cultural interactions between the countries
even today]
The minister of Economic Development, Xavier
Walnuts, assured that he will not authorize that Argentina
transfers to Chile even a single "Bolivian gas molecule".
Friday, the
Chilean minister of the Interior, Jose Miguel Insulza, declared that
its country has not requested that Bolivia that sells gas to it.
However,
civic, social and enterprise representatives of Tarija, Santa Cruz,
Pando and Beni, self-appointed group like the "average moon", are in agreement
with the sale of natural gas to Argentina and noted that
they will not allow the loss of this business.
The main natural gas
fields of Bolivia are in Tarija and Santa Cruz, whereas Beni and Pando
are co-contributors of the originating exemptions of that operation. |
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Supporting the industrialization of the gas |
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Cochabamba/ANF, and La Paz/the Press
The
Society of Engineers of Bolivia (SIB) expressed yesterday its concern that before
selling Bolivian gas it is important to consider the nature of its
commercialization, in order to avoid the sale of precious natural
resources at minimum prices.
That
of comes off of a seminary factory made in this capital to approach
technologies in the matter of hydrocarbons, within the framework the
Foundation Science and Technology of the Americas and the SIB, that
organized the census specialized in petroleum technologies and the gas.
"There
are very many ideas to be found right now; there are people who say that the
gas is due to export. We think actually that at the moment the gas is
effectively not ours,
since contracts in place with transnational companies already speak for
it. Therefore, we propose its commercialization at all levels", said the president of the SIB, Arming Leigue.
"the
[manner of the] commercializaion of the gas is our greater
concern, because we think that only with this possibility we are
going to be able to improve our country and to have the required income to leave
our status as a developing nation", he declared.
"The present
natural gas reserves, the variety of other hydrocarbons and lithium are
the last raw materials whereupon we can still hope for a future for our country."
"It is dignity but
also a question of price. Also;
installing petrochemical plants in the country and processing the
gas ourselves will have greater opportunities ", insisted the director of the
SIB.
Report of the FFAA
A
report and analysis produced by the Armed Forces on natural gas
established that gas must be commercialized in the country.
The commander of the Army, general Caesar Lopez, said that first Bolivia
must satisfy the internal market with energy and the
industrial production of other petroleum derivatives, and only export the
excess.
Already a month ago the Armed Forces gave to the president
of the Republic, Carlos Table, an ample report on all the advantages
and disadvantages of the commercialization of the gas, its export as a natural
resource, as well as the possible alternatives for the transport of gas through a port in the Pacific.
[dan: possibly an eye towards export as LNG -
Liquified Natural Gas - a form in which it can be transported longer
distances to better markets]
The commander-in-chief of
the FFAA, Admiral Luis Aranda Seeded, confirmed Friday that the report
is into the hands of Head of State. |
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| Environmentalists question
a pipeline in Peruvian forest |
He files/AP
Environmentalists
questioned Friday to representatives of the Inter-American Development
Bank by their plans to lend 75 million dollars to a project to pipeline
natural gas in the Peruvian forest.
The bank, that lends money for
economic development, has said that it will not give the financing for
the Camisea project until an international partnership of oil companies
-- including Pluspetrol of Argentina and Techint and Hunt Oil of the
United States -- fulfills a list of environmental conditions.
Nevertheless,
Atossa Soltani, of the organization Amazon Watch (Monitoring of the
Amazon) of the United States, said that the list is inadequate.
A
problem is that the pipeline operators have begun to dismantle the
work camps before planting new vegetation in the damaged zones, as
asked for by the I.A.D.B., indicated in a meeting with activists and
leaders of the community.
In an interview, the director of the
partnership Camisea, Alexander Segret, said that the environmental
problems are inevitable in this type of projects, but that are being
fulfilled the parameters. All the construction camps are not
necessary to support the work of recovery, added.
"This type of
project always is going to generate problems", said Robert Montgomery,
environmental and social director of the I.A.D.B., in the seminary with
the activists.
The Camisea project almost is concluded and the
Peruvian government hopes that the gas arrives at Lima for August. Until
now, the involved companies have financed it with 1,400 million dollars. |
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| Uruguay also is affected |
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Montevideo/AP
The
Uruguayan government watched with concern the rationing of natural gas from Argentina, that could affect its economic
revitalization.
President
Jorge Batlle, in the last year of his five year term, advanced that
this Monday will raise the Argentine chancellor, Rafael Bielsa, who the
restrictions ready in their country are proportional to which it
applies to the companies internally.
Batlle will meet with Bielsa,
who will visit Montevideo [Uruguay], and will raise the issue with him
to what degree the internal Argentine
problems will effect Uruguay.
At the moment, Usinas and
Transmisiones Ele'ctricas (UTE), the power authority, has not raised some
plan of restrictions or increases of tariffs to resolve the greater
cost than produce the generation with usinas that the fuel that Uruguay
does not produce.
The negative effect of this situation is complicated mà s by one sequÃa
that has affected paÃs and by that the farming, motor sector of
economic revitalization in the latter part of 2003, observes that the
lack of rains can harm its plans for the harvests that prometÃan high
performance. With respect to gas, Uruguay buys ten percent of its needs
from Argentina, and sources of the distributing local companies, Gaseba
and Conecta, are not strong as well because of problems with other
imports. |
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