Page 11 - LatAmOil Week 07 2022

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The company also teamed up with Shell (UK) metres per day of gas on January 1.
and won a gas supply contract from the Paraiba Delivery volumes are scheduled to increase
state gas distributor PBGas, which had desig- to 150,000 cubic metres per day in January 2023,
nated PetroReconcavo as a supplier to the state and the onshore gas exploration company will
in 2022 and 2023 also continue supplying 80,000 cubic metres per
In accordance with this contract, Pet- day until December 2023 in accordance with a
roReconcavo began supplying 50,000 cubic pre-existing contract. ™

BOLIVIA
Deputy minister says Margarita-10 find

highlights Bolivia’s need for new gas law

RAÚL Daniel Mayta Jiménez, Bolivia’s deputy time, the conditions of the market and the oil
minister of hydrocarbon and energy for explo- industry require an adjustment.”
ration and development, said last week that the YPFB went public with the news of a discov-
discovery of new natural gas reserves at the Mar- ery in Margarita-10, a well drilled at the Marga-
garita-10 well highlighted the need for changes rita-Huacaya field operated by Repsol (Spain),
in the legal regime governing the gas sector. earlier this month. It has said that the well
Currently, Mayta Jimenez noted, the indus- revealed 300-350bn cubic feet (8.5-9.9bn cubic
try is subject to the Hydrocarbons Law 3058, metres) in new reserves – enough to generate
which was adopted in May 2005. Recent events more than $260mn per year in revenue for the
indicate that this is no longer adequate, he said. government, which will use the money to fund
“We are working on modifying the regula- investments in health, education and economic
tions,” he was quoted as saying by MercoPress. growth programmes.
“We have to differentiate between what is urgent The NOC hopes Repsol will launch commer-
and what is necessary. We see it as necessary, that cial production at Margarita-10 by June of this
Law 3058 has already completed a cycle.” year. Gas from the new well may help Bolivia
The deputy minister did not say exactly what meet its contractual commitments to export gas
kinds of reforms were under consideration or to Brazil and Argentina, and it could also help
when new policies might be enacted. However, shore up the country’s falling production levels,
he did indicate that the government intended to which sank from 61mn cubic metres per day in
sign decrees that would create new incentives for 2014 to 45 mcm per day in 2021.
investment in crude oil and natural gas projects. The Margarita-Huacaya field is located in
Additionally, he said that the state wanted to southern Bolivia, and it straddles the border
expand the areas available for exploration by the between the Tariija and Chiquisaca depart-
national oil company (NOC) YPFB. ments. The field contains conventional reserves
Mayta Jimenez is not the first to broach the but is geologically complex. ™
subject of reforming the legal regime to facilitate
investment in the hydrocarbon sector. Hydro-
carbon and Energy Minister Franklin Molina
did say last year that the Bolivian government
was considering the possibility of revising the
Hydrocarbons Law 3058, remarking: “At this

PARAGUAY
Asunción changes course in fuel price hike

PARAGUAY’S state-run petroleum product with the price hike on February 12, saying in a
concern raised most motor fuel prices at the statement that the cost of Mbarete diesel, which
weekend, abandoning previous pledges to freeze has a maximum sulphur content of 10 ppm, had
prices at least until the end of this month. gone up from PYG7,250 ($1.05) to PYG7,850
Petróleos Paraguayos (Petropar) went ahead ($1.13) per litre.

Week 07 17•February•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P11