Evo Plays the Gazprom Pelota
I am a few days behind in commenting on the signed deal between Gazprom and Bolivia’s state-owned YPFB to develop gas fields in Tarija, but the relationship between these two resource nationalist states appears to be deepening (see my earlier post). Yesterday Gazprom announced it had signed exploration deals for three fields (not just two, as was previously speculated), with an investment of up to $2 billion in 2009 which could produce as much as 300 bcm of gas. A Gazprom rep told the FT that “Due to its large gas reserves, Bolivia is the country that most interests us in the region. I consider it will be the region’s leader in gas terms and our objective is to go as far as to exploit as much as we can.” … and exploit, they might…