LatinNews Daily - 31 January 2025

*Bolivia’s state-owned hydrocarbon company, Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB), has signed a contract with the Brazilian energy company Fluxus to study the natural gas potential of the Iñiguazú region of Tarija department. YPFB and its subsidiary, YPFB Chaco, also announced plans to carry out technical studies at other sites – La Vertiente Este, Los Suris, Pilar, Ayoreo, Monteverde, and Colibrí. Fluxus moved into Bolivia in June 2024, when it acquired the hydrocarbon firm Pluspetrol and took over operations at three gas fields in Tarija. YPFB’s vice president for contract administration and auditing, Wilman Yabeta, said that the partnership with Fluxus is part of YPFB’s ‘upstream reactivation plan’, which aims to strengthen Bolivia’s natural gas reserves. Dwindling stocks of natural gas have severely impacted Bolivia’s export revenue, contributing to a shortage of hard currency that played a role in the decision by international credit ratings agency Fitch to downgrade Bolivia to ‘CCC-’ earlier this month.