Mexico City – Mexico remains interested in purchasing natural gas from Bolivia despite the South American country’s plans to nationalize its oil and gas resources, Energy Secretary Fernando Canales said Wednesday.
Canales said Mexico has an “enormous interest” in helping its “brother country” by buying gas, but that it would have to see what the Bolivian government offers.
Bolivian President Evo Morales’ announcement Monday that the government was taking control of the energy sector “doesn’t impact us whatsoever,” said Canales on the sidelines of an event, noting that Bolivian officials had alerted him of the possible nationalization when he visited a couple of months ago.
Still, he said the country’s energy sector is a long way from being able to deliver natural gas to Mexico, lacking both coastal access and a plant to cool the gas into liquid form.
The Federal Electricity Commission will start a bidding process by the end of the month to allow countries to supply Mexico with gas over the long term, and Canales said he hopes Bolivia makes an offer.
He said that Peru has the advantages of access to the ocean and a pipeline to carry the natural gas to port, and is building a liquification plant that is expected to be up and running by the end of 2009.
Other countries that are likely to present offers include Australia, Indonesia and Russia, Canales said.
Luis Ramirez, chief executive of Mexico’s state-run oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, said the company is primarily focused on producing its own gas, but that many other countries could also supply Mexico in the long run.
“In Bolivia, many things need to be defined before a trade relationship can be considered,” added Ramirez, who was also at the Pemex event.
Pemex is currently producing close to 5.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day. However, the government expects demand to continue growing about 5 percent a year to 10.5 billion cubic feet per day in 2014, requiring imports of close to 3 billion cubic feet.
