Bolivia unveils plan to double natgas reserves
LA PAZ, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Bolivia aims to double its natural gas reserves in the next four years through an ambitious investment plan that will include foreign partners, the government said late on Wednesday.
The plan calls for investments worth between $1 billion and $1.5 billion per year, from companies including Venezuela's state-owned PDVSA and Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM), a statement from Bolivian state-run energy company YPFB said.
Energy investments fell after leftist President Evo Morales nationalized the energy industry in 2006, hiking taxes on foreign companies.
These firms, including Brazil's Petrobras (PETR4.SA) (PBR.N), Spain's Repsol (REP.MC) and France's Total (TOTF.PA) agreed to continue operating in the country under the Morales' rules, but they have invested little to boost output.
Bolivia has struggled this year to meet export commitments to Brazil and Argentina due to difficulties in increasing production.
"The 'Plan 100' means we will extract more than 50 trillion cubic feet ... reaching 100 trillion cubic feet (in total)," the head of YPFB Santos Ramirez said in the statement.
Bolivia has 48.7 trillion cubic feet of proven and probable natural gas reserves, as of 2005 measurements, or the second-largest deposits in South America after Venezuela. (Reporting by Carlos Quiroga; Writing by Eduardo Garcia)
