Page 12 - LatAmOil Week 17 2021

LatAmOil BOLIVIA LatAmOil

He did not say why revenues were set to expand,
but presumably they will be driven upward by
the rise in world energy prices, which sank dra-
matically last year because of the coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic.
The CEO also highlighted YPFB’s plans to
repair a key petrochemical facility, the Ammo-
nia and Urea Plant (PAU) in Cochabamba. He
indicated that the NOC had tasked KBR (US)
and Toyo Engineering (Japan) with repairing
the damage that its Ammonia and Urea Plant
(PAU) suffered in late 2019, during protests
related to the presidential election held in Octo-
ber of that year. YPFB’s Ammonia and Urea Plant (Photo: ABI)
That damage kept the plant offline all the way
through 2020, and as a result PAU has not been 85% of that sum. The remaining 15% will come
able to produce the chemicals needed to manu- from other companies, he explained.
facture fertiliser for Bolivia’s farmers. Franklin He further noted that YPFB intended to
Molina, Bolivia’s Minister of Hydrocarbons and invest $250mn in the construction of a sec-
Energies, said last month that the country had ond-generation renewable diesel plant that will
probably sustained $250mn in losses because of convert used oil and fats derived from animals
the shutdown. and plants into motor fuel. This facility will
Zelaya, for his part, said last week that YPFB’s eventually be able to turn out 9,000 barrels per
budget for investment and operational expendi- day (bpd) of diesel fuel, he said. Since these vol-
tures in 2021 would amount to $8.05bn. The umes will be sold on the domestic market, Boliv-
company expects Bolivia’s hydrocarbon sector ia’s government should be able to reduce outlays
to attract a total of $788mn worth of investment on fuel subsidies by $400mn per year, starting in
this year, he added, and YPFB will contribute 2024, he commented. ™

ARGENTINA
Vaca Muerta output may recover after

protesters lift roadblocks

DEVELOPMENT operations in Argentina’s
Vaca Muerta shale formation have slowed in
recent weeks as a consequence of labour unrest,
but drilling and production may recover now
that protesters have agreed to choose different
venues for airing their grievances.
The protesters in question are healthcare
workers and truckers. Healthcare workers began
blocking the roads leading to crude oil and nat-
ural gas fields in Vaca Muerta on April 7 to call
attention to their demand for higher salaries in
the face of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pan-
demic, and they were joined shortly thereafter
by truck drivers. The resulting traffic jams have Protesters have blocked roads leading to oil and gas fields (Photo: Equinor)
forced upstream operators to cut production
rates and drilling activity and have also ham- a Reuters report.
pered efforts to deliver fuel and other goods to As Marco Campos, a spokesman for protest-
nearby communities. ing healthcare workers, told the news agency:
Officials in Neuquen Province, where most “We are going to move to different parts of the
of the shale formation is located, have been province. We will continue evaluating what
trying to defuse tensions. Their efforts did not other measures to take to ensure that the gov-
bear much fruit initially, but healthcare per- ernment understands our concerns, consider-
sonnel agreed earlier this week to move their ing that we are getting hit by a second wave of
demonstrations to other locations, according to COVID-19 cases.”

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 17 29•April•2021