In Bolivia, President Magda Chambriard Highlights Petrobras' Interest in Natural Gas

Petrobras CEO Magda Chambriard participated in the Bolivia-Brazil Business Forum in Santa Cruz de La Sierra on Tuesday, July 9. Speaking to an audience of Brazilian and Bolivian businesspeople and authorities, Chambriard highlighted Petrobras’ interest in increasing the company’s gas production in Bolivia and in increasing the volume of gas imported into Brazil. With a greater supply of gas to the Brazilian market at affordable prices, the CEO hopes to make fertilizer and petrochemical projects foreseen in the 2024-2028 Strategic Plan viable.

“Today, the Brazilian consumer market demands 50 million m3 of natural gas per day. We believe that this market can be tripled, reaching 150 million m3 per day. This gas will serve as an input for the petrochemical industry and for the production of fertilizers. The condition is that we are able to make it reach Brazil at affordable prices,” said the president.

For Magda, natural gas plays an essential role in the energy integration of South America. “We are betting heavily on this synergy between Brazil, Bolivia and also Argentina, countries connected by the gas pipeline,” she said.

The president mentioned the prospects for increased production in the neighboring country. Petrobras, which was once responsible for 60% of Bolivian natural gas production, now operates 25% of the total produced in the country. “We look ahead and see opportunities to be developed by Petrobras or in partnerships that deserve our investment,” she said.

Exploration project
In the San Telmo Norte area, in the state of Tarija, Petrobras Bolivia plans to drill an exploratory well in 2025 to investigate the potential of natural gas reserves. Petrobras Bolivia plans to invest around 40 million dollars to drill this well, if it obtains an environmental license.

The area has recovery potential of approximately 2.7 trillion cubic feet (TCF).

“The new investments in the San Telmo Norte area reinforce our commitment to the partnership between Brazil and Bolivia,” concluded Magda Chambriard.

Bolivia – Brazil Business Forum
The Bolivia-Brazil Business Forum was promoted by the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency – Apex Brasil. The event took place in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz de La Sierra and was attended by the presidents of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Bolivia, Luis Alberto Arce Catacora.

Petrobras Bolivia
Petrobras Bolivia is a wholly owned subsidiary of Petrobras that operates exploration and production fields through service contracts with Bolivian state-owned company YPFB. As operator, Petrobras Bolivia operates in four fields: San Alberto and San Antonio, Itaú, Colpa Caranda, and the San Telmo Norte field, which is currently under exploration. In the fields in production, the company produced 9 million m3/day of natural gas last year, which corresponds to 25% of Bolivia's total production. The company also has a stake in three other non-operated assets.