Argentina seeks to avoid energy crisis, as Brazil refuses to share Bolivian gas

RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil has declined to cede any of its imports of Bolivian natural gas to Argentina, which is struggling to find more energy sources to avoid supply shortages that could derail its fast-growing economy.

Argentina and Brazil are facing the possibility of short-term energy crises from a lack of natural gas, which is needed to fuel industries and generate electricity for residents. Bolivia is sitting in the middle, with the region’s largest gas reserves.


For Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, the new president of Argentina, finding solutions to the energy problems that the administration of her husband, Nestor Kirchner, helped create is among her biggest early challenges. The country is looking for any additional supply it can find to avoid a politically devastating energy shortage.

Bolivia, which has seen a rise in domestic energy demand, has struggled to meet its contractual obligations to supply natural gas to both Brazil and Argentina. Petrobras, the Brazilian national energy company, which has a much larger contract with Bolivia, has been unwilling to divert any supplies to Argentina because of concerns here that Brazil could face its own energy shortfalls.

IHT