Bolivia restores most natgas exports after protests
11 Sep 2008 20:19:48 GMT Source: Reuters
(Recasts with supplies to Brazil largely restored) By Carlos Quiroga LA PAZ, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Bolivia restored most natural gas exports to neighboring Brazil on Thursday following the sabotage of a pipeline in anti-government protests that also interrupted fuel shipments to Argentina, energy officials said. The supply cut during the morning and part of Thursday afternoon halved the flow of natural gas to Brazil, which is Bolivia's top foreign energy investor and relies on its neighbor for about half its natural gas needs. "Technical staff have managed to resolve the problem ... in a pipeline control station," said Hugo Munoz, a spokesman for pipeline operator Transierra, which is owned by Brazil's state-run oil firm Petrobras <PETR4.SA>, France's Total <TOTF.PA>, Spain's Repsol <REP.MC>, and Bolivian state oil company YPFB. He said the company had resumed the supply of up to 14 million cubic meters per day in the pipeline, which usually transports 17 million cubic meters per day The supplies were not fully restored because a fire was still burning after anti-government protesters damaged the pipeline about 30 miles (50 km) from the city of Yacuiba on Wednesday. The fire damage and the valve sabotage were separate incidents. Bolivia's total daily exports to its large neighbor are between 30 million and 31 million cubic meters a day -- far more than it sends to Argentina, which also saw its supply interrupted on Thursday. A YPFB spokesman said supplies to Argentina were suspended at midday, a reduction of at least 1 million cubic meters per day. The spokesman said staff had closed the valves "for security reasons" after demonstrators opposed to leftist President Evo Morales occupied a pipeline control station in the city of Yacuiba, which lies close to the Argentine border. Violence has flared in Bolivia in recent days and clashes have intensified between pro- and anti-government protesters in regions including natural-gas rich Tarija, home to most of the country's energy reserves. Morales' rightist opponents, concentrated in the resource-rich east of the country, want a bigger share of energy revenues for their regions and more autonomy from the central government. Government officials have called the attacks on the pipeline "terrorist attacks," and vowed to step up security to avoid further supply cuts. "They're reinforcing the militarization of the oil fields and in all areas that are most susceptible to terrorist acts," Bolivian Finance Minister Luis Arce told reporters in Brasilia. (Additional reporting by Denise Luna in Brazil; Editing by Helen Popper and Marguerita Choy)
Supporters of Bolivian President Evo Morales stand guard in a blockade point in Cuatro Canadas, 100 km (62 miles) north of Santa Cruz, September 11, 2008. At least three people were ...
