Bolivia to pay $240 million for natgas pipeline co

LA PAZ, June 4 (Reuters) - Bolivia said on Wednesday it would pay about $240 million for the takeover this week of pipeline company Transredes after failing to reach an agreement with Ashmore Energy International (ASHM.L) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), its 50 percent owners.

The state takeover was announced by Bolivia's leftist President President Evo Morales on Monday, a month after he ordered the firms to transfer the shares to the Bolivian government.

"With the nationalization we have to pay Shell and Ashmore US$240 million for their shares," Energy Minister Carlos Villegas said at a press conference in La Paz.

Villegas said the government, which already had a 47 percent stake in Transredes, aimed only to buy a small stake from Shell and Ashmore in order to become the majority shareholder. But Ashmore "refused," Villegas said, because it would have given Bolivia a strong say in management.

Ashmore nearly purchased Shell's 25 percent stake in Transredes in May last year, but Villegas said on Wednesday the acquisition was never completed.

He said the nationalization measure this week will not affect Bolivian output or exports to the region.

In terms of output, Villegas said Bolivia is now producing up to 41 million cubic meters of natural gas per day and that it will continue exporting between 1.65 million cubic meters a day and 2 million cubic meters a day to Argentina.

"(Transredes nationalization) won't have an effect on the internal market or on (exports) to Brazil and Argentina ... we will comply with the agreements," said Villegas.

He did not elaborate on Transredes investment plans for the future, but said the firm had eight projects to expand its pipeline network.

"Transredes (investment) agenda includes the construction of the pipeline that would allow us to send more natural gas to Argentina," said Villegas.

In late 2006 Bolivia reached a deal to almost quadruple natural gas exports to Argentina in the coming years, from a current maximum of 7.7 million cubic meters a day.

The seizure of Ashmore and Shell's stake in Transredes is in line with Morales' plan to exercise greater control over the country's natural gas reserves, the second-largest in South America after Venezuela.

Neighboring Argentina and Brazil are the main buyers of Bolivian natural gas and their energy-hungry economies depend heavily on Bolivian supply. (Reporting by Eduardo Garcia, editing by Matthew Lewis)