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Strategic Partnership With Petrobras Highlights the Brazil-Bolivia Business Forum, Discussing Productive Chains, Energy Transition, and Natural Gas Exploration.
Petrobras was one of the highlights at the Brazil-Bolivia Business Forum, where topics such as productive chains, energy transition, and natural gas exploration were discussed. Petrobras’ active participation in the event underscores its importance in regional energy integration and the promotion of strategic partnerships.
With more than 350 companies and institutions present, the meeting organized by ApexBrasil coincided with President Lula’s visit to Bolivia. The Brazilian oil company played a fundamental role in the discussions, reinforcing the need to strengthen commercial, political, and diplomatic ties between the two countries. The event highlighted Petrobras as a key player in the continent’s energy transition.
Partnership and Business Diversity in the Oil and Gas Chain
During the keynote speech where the presidents of Petrobras and YPFB participated, the importance of expanding, strengthening, and diversifying business with Bolivia was emphasized. This was the central point of the inaugural speeches at the Bolivia-Brazil Business Forum held on Tuesday, the 9th, in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The event was organized by the Brazilian Agency for the Promotion of Exportation and Investments (ApexBrasil) in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, coinciding with President Luís Inácio Lula da Silva’s visit to the neighboring country. The forum brought together a robust delegation of more than 350 businesspeople and representatives of public institutions from both countries, providing a space for discussions on bilateral trade and business opportunities for Brazilian and Bolivian producers.
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Resumption of Trade and Energy Integration
Jorge Viana, president of ApexBrasil, highlighted that this meeting was timely. He noted that Bolivia recently faced challenges that it has overcome and has now joined Mercosur. He emphasized: ‘It is a brother country of ours, with many similarities to the Brazilian Midwest.’ The previous Monday, the country had become the fifth full member of Mercosur at the 64th Summit in Asunción, Paraguay. Viana underscored the representation of the largest Brazilian economic groups at the event, signaling the resumption of trade and investment flow with Bolivia. Enormous opportunities in the energy generation, gas, critical minerals such as lithium, and agribusiness sectors were mentioned, areas where there is strong synergy between the two countries. He also mentioned Brazil nut production as an example of a productive chain that generates significant income and faces challenges to expand its presence in the external market.
Economic Integration of South America
Huascar Ajata Guerrero, Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Integration of Bolivia, emphasized the longevity of bilateral relations and shared challenges such as climate change and dependence on fossil fuels. He highlighted the privileged position for the energy transition of both countries, thanks to abundant natural resources. The event, he said, served as an ideal platform to strengthen and diversify relations with neighbors, aligning with the integration of South America. Márcio Elias, Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services (MDIC), reinforced the government’s commitment to integrating the productive chains between the two countries, promoting regional economic integration as well.
Opportunities for Brazilian Industrialized Products
Francisco Carlos Soares Luz, Consul General of Brazil in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, emphasized the importance of the Bolivian market for high value-added Brazilian industrialized products that need to be explored by Brazilian exporters. He drew attention to the opportunities generated by Bolivia’s recent inclusion in Mercosur. Oscar Mario Justiniano, president of the Federation of Private Businessmen of Santa Cruz, pointed out the geographical proximity to Brazilian states like Mato Grosso, Rondônia, and Acre as great opportunities for the fertilizer market and the agricultural development in Bolivia, as well as the exchange of technologies.
Natural Gas Exploration and Strategic Partnerships
The president of Petrobras, Magda Chambriand, was responsible for the first lecture, announcing plans for the prospecting of natural gas wells in San Telmo Norte, in the Tarija department. The works are scheduled for 2025, depending only on obtaining environmental licensing. Chambriand highlighted that if drilling is possible, gas production will serve both Brazil and Bolivia. She stated that Petrobras is responsible for one-fourth of Bolivia’s gas production and 33% of the country’s exports. The executive emphasized the nearly 30-year partnership between the countries in the gas industry and the importance of Gasbol as a symbol of this integration. She also reminded that Brazil has operated 60% of gas production in Bolivia, investing around US$ 10 billion in the neighboring country between 2002 and 2023.
Energy Transition and Exploratory Opportunities
Chambriand expressed Petrobras’ confidence in the potential of the Bolivian market and exploration opportunities, highlighting the need to recover gas production levels to provide Brazil’s petrochemical and fertilizer industry at affordable prices. She stressed that oil and gas must be fundamental value drivers, contributing to a just and inclusive energy transition, with Bolivia as a strategic supplier. This point also emphasized the importance of the potential partnership in San Telmo for the future of relations between the two countries. Armin Ludwig Dorgathen, president of Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB), discussed more than 50 exploratory projects in development between 2021 and 2024.
Cooperation Between Petrobras and YPFB
Dorgathen discussed the contract with Petrobras, which facilitated the development of the gas sector in Bolivia and Brazil, as well as the supply to the Argentine market. According to him, YPFB, a state-owned oil and derivatives company, has been working hard with Petrobras since 2020 and maintains a contract in force until 2027 that guarantees the supply of natural gas to Brazil. He also addressed the energy and gas outlook post-2027, stating that the necessary infrastructure to meet the gas demand from northern Argentina will be ready, allowing the surplus to be directed to the Brazilian market. He pointed out that 85% of the gas produced in Bolivia is exported, with Brazil, along with neighboring countries like Peru and Paraguay, being significant recipients of this production.
Source: © graziella.nunes@inpacto.co
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