Bolivia’s gas plan may hit Chile’s supply

Chile could face power shortages as a result of Bolivia’s plan to nationalise its gas sector, energy experts have warned.

More than a third of Chile’s energy generating capacity is supplied by gas, all of which is imported from Argentina. But in order to fulfil its export commitments to Chile of about 15m cubic metres of gas a day, Argentina imports on average 6m cu m a day from Bolivia for $3.35 per million BTU.

“If Argentina cannot get enough gas from Bolivia it will inevitably have to cut exports to Chile – there’s no magic,” says Daniel Montamat, a former energy minister in Argentina and previously head of the former state oil company YPF.

Financial Times