Brazil’s oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) and Bolivia’s Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) have been in talks about a possible joint investment of $2.5 billion to build an ammonia and urea plant in Puerto Quijarro, on the border of the two countries. While acknowledging the talks, Petrobras cautioned that no final investment decision has been made.
“The progress of these initial rapprochement talks between the two countries will be mutual and gradually constructive,” Petrobras said in a statement. The company is studying the best alternatives for executing its strategy in the fertilizer sector, it added.
Brazil consumes 80% of Bolivia’s current fertilizer output, according to YPFB, and the proposed plant is expected to produce 4,200 mt/d. Bolivia’s only urea plant at Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz (formerly Bulo Bulo) produces 2,100 mt/d. The discussions were unveiled by YPFB in an Oct. 25 statement after a Petrobras delegation visited the country (GM Sept. 8, p. 27).
Petrobras had meetings at Bolivia’s Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Energies to discuss natural gas supplies, renewable energy, fertilizers, lithium, and investments in oil and gas exploration and production in the country, Petrobras CEO Jean Paul Prates said in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Petrobras has shown an interest in resuming investments in neighboring countries Venezuela and Bolivia, which Prates said makes “geopolitical sense” due to their vast potential for oil and gas. The easing of sanctions on Venezuela “seriously inspires” Petrobras to think about investing in the oil-rich nation, which will need funds to rebuild its deteriorated industry, Prates said in an interview this week with Bloomberg.