Page 4 - LatAmOil Week 46 2019

LatAmOil COMMENTARY LatAmOil
Gasoline supplies have been scarce in Bolivia (Photo: Correo del Sur)
Ongoing turmoil in Bolivia affecting fuel and energy sector
As La Paz and other cities experience shortages of motor fuel and LPG, the caretaker government is appointing new personnel to YPFB, ANH and the Hydrocarbons Ministry
WHAT:
Bolivia’s oil and gas sector is caught up in political turmoil.
WHY:
Supply disruptions have the potential to hurt
the economy, as well as ordinary citizens.
WHAT NEXT:
If clashes continue, gas production may be affected.
EVO Morales, the long-time president of Bolivia, left the country on November 10 fol- lowing widespread protests over allegations of fraud in the elections held last month.
His departure did not have much of an immediate effect on the oil and gas sector. But over the last week, conditions have worsened, and the industry has been caught up in the clash between the caretaker government headed by Jeanine Áñez Chávez, formerly the second vice president of the Senate, and Morales’ supporters.
Fuel shortages
One of the main consequences of Bolivia’s polit- ical turmoil has been fuel shortages.
Deliveries of motor fuel and cooking gas (LPG) have been severely disrupted, as Morales’ backers have taken to blocking roads and other transportation routes used to deliver fuel. Dem- onstrators have also staged a blockade of the Senkata fuel terminal, a facility in El Alto that plays a key role in keeping La Paz supplied with
petroleum products.
In any event, the capital city and other pop-
ulation centres are now experiencing acute fuel shortages. There is virtually no gasoline availa- ble, so drivers are queueing up at filling stations and waiting, in the hope that they will be in the right place when the next tanker truck arrives. Shipments of LPG have also been restricted.
The interim government has vowed to restore fuel supplies. Accordingly, it has started provid- ing escorts for truck convoys carrying gasoline and LPG. (It has also placed some restrictions on fuel sales in the hope of rationing the volumes that are available.)
It also sent helicopters and armoured vehi-
cles to the Senkata facility on November 19, in
a bid to end the blockade there. The operation reportedly resulted in the death of three demon- strators, but Bolivia’s military has described its actions as a “peaceful” attempt to restore access
to the terminal, following the failure of negotia-
tions and dialogue. 
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 46 21•November•2019