Repsol eyes boosting gas output in Bolivia

[Judi Lynn]

Monday, 11 May, 2009, 20:40 GMT
Repsol eyes boosting gas output in Bolivia

Spanish oil company Repsol is in talks with Bolivia to boost the output of the Margarita gas field sevenfold, Repsol's Exploration & Production executive Nemesio Fernandez Cuesta said.


The company will probably increase production at the field in Bolivia's southern Tarija region to 14 million cubic metres per day from a current 2 MMcmpd, Fernandez said.

Repsol, which has a 37.5% operating stake in the field, is currently negotiating with Bolivia and expects to make the decision to increase production during the course of this year, he said.

"It's a complicated negotiation, but we are advancing considerably," he added.

Boosting output at Margarita would mark a turning point in the relationship between foreign oil companies and Bolivia, which soured after the government nationalised its gas industry in 2006, pressuring foreign oil companies to accept production deals that lowered their participation, said a Dow Jones Newswire report.

The new contracts reduced the companies' participation in much of the country's gas production to a minority stake, but the Margarita field is an exception.

British gas giant BG Group also holds a 37.5% stake in Margarita, while Argentina's Pan American Energy holds 25%.

Fernandez said he sees Margarita increasing volumes beginning in 2011 or 2012 on, with production expected to be exported to Argentina.

At the same time, Repsol also expects production to start at the Kinteroni discovery in Peru Block 57, Fernandez said.

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