Mature wells and the Miraflores field can reduce the need of fuels imports in Bolivia, according to Engineers from the “Dionisio Foianini” Petroleum Foundation, an institution that has several projects to support YPFB and promote the recovery of reserves and production.
ISSUE 106 | 2022
Elizabeth Riva Álvarez
The development of mature oil wells can help reducing the growing and costly imports of fuels, while the Miraflores field, with unconventional resources, would produce more gas. Both projects would allow the country to alleviate the hydrocarbon crisis.
At the same time, work must be done on reforms to the Hydrocarbons regulation to attract foreign investments that promote the exploration and drilling of new oil and gas fields, to recover the country’s reserves.
These are some of the challenges raised by members of the “Dionisio Foianini” Foundation of Petroleum Engineers, who have extensive knowledge of the situation of hydrocarbons in the country and the national company Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB).
UNCONVENTIONALS
“We have the opportunity of improving oil production in mature fields, with that, we can replace the imports of refined liquids. On the other hand, the unconventional resources, in the Miraflores field, can enhance the current levels of gas production. Both alternatives could be executed immediately, but if there are no incentives for foreign investment, nothing will be achieved and this must go hand in hand with the exploration of new fields”, said the renowned petroleum engineer Eduardo Alba Moscoso, in the interview held by ENERGÍABolivia magazine.
Alba explained that to carry out the secondary and tertiary phase of recovery in mature wells, technology and equipment that YPFB does not have are required, which is why it is important to have foreign investment. ” As a foundation, we try to cooperate with ideas and projects that can lead to increase reserves and also contribute to new discoveries that the country needs now more than ever,” he said, highlighting that the industry requires around 100 million dollars per well, due to their depth, complexity and longer execution times.
He added that “the last three wells drilled by the Government have been a total failure for the country´s economy, they have spent more than 160 million dollars in hydrocarbons exploration, when there could have been agreements to modifying the regulation.”
In this context, arbitration, guarantees and investment incentives were some of the points highlighted to be considered for the modification of the regulation. Only then it will be possible to attract foreign companies for the reactivation of the sector, according to the specialist.
YPFB is in a critical situation regarding to the production of hydrocarbons, according to analysts, an example of this is that currently only two rigs are active in the country, out of five that used to be active, compared to the approximately 150 active rigs that are operating in the Vaca Muerta field in Argentina. In this regard, Alba recommended not neglecting the production of hydrocarbons, beyond the urgency of transitioning to a new energy matrix.
ENERGY TRANSITION
Bolivia must achieve, at least a self-sufficiency of natural gas in order to have a sustainable energy transition, according to engineer Iván Rodríguez Rojas, also a member and former president of the Foianini fraternity, an organization made up of more than 50 professionals from the hydrocarbon sector.
“Several countries are developing strategies for the energy transition based on natural gas. It was assumed that this was a good start for Bolivia, due to the amount of gas that the country has, but today, it is very likely that if actions are not taken to improve the current situation, Bolivia could end up importing this resource,” Rodríguez said.
“Both alternatives could be executed immediately, but if there are no incentives for foreign investment, nothing will be achieved…”
To overcome this problem, the development of public energy policies is urgently needed, with a long-term view to the next 10 or 20 years that will allow the country to have peace of mind in terms of the production, supply and exports of hydrocarbons. “Currently more than two thirds of the country’s energy matrix is based on fossil fuels. In this context, in order to achieve an energy transition, it is necessary implementing hydroelectric projects and developing other renewable energies”, he pointed out.
Regarding to the fuel imports, Rodríguez pointed out that it is “a monster” that grows year after year, and currently it is close to approximately 1,700 million dollars.
“Fuel imports are growing compared to decreasing production. All imported volumes are transported via highways, by tankers. It is expensive and unsafe, this can be alleviated by using the pipelines that we have, with some minor adjustments, either for fuel, or to bring crude oil and be able to refine it here, in new refineries that must be build,” said Rodríguez, an specialist in transportation of hydrocarbons.
OPPORTUNITIES AND POTENTIAL
Enrique Menacho, a metallurgical engineer specializing in Oil and Natural Gas Production Technology and current president of the Foianini Foundation, believes that YPFB and the country’s energy sector have great potential and a “world of opportunities” that must be developed with the openness of the Government in order to listen and consider, the projects and proposals that exist in various sectors of the population and professional organizations, emphasizing that “we have a lot of faith in our industry.”
“Bolivia has many possibilities with the development of hydroelectric plants, in order to replace the consumption of natural gas from thermoelectric plants, thus allocating that gas for exports, which currently has an excellent international price. But this must be part of a long-term plan to replace fossil fuels,” said Menacho, also general manager of Bolinter, a long-standing company that provides services to the oil&gas industry.
“The country’s situation must be adaptable to the country´s requirements, we must have alternative plans and the hydroelectric plants are a great opportunity,” he added.
Another viable possibility considered in the country is the production of shale gas and shale oil, Menacho said, referencing specifically to these so-called non-conventional fossil fuels. “Our colleagues specialized in geology and reserves, see important possibilities in this regard,” indicating that the exploration for new oil and gas reserves should not stop, for which foreign investment is needed, granting appropriate conditions.
“For example, when we talk about the 1,700 million dollars per year that we spend importing fuels, we observe a shared operation with foreign interests, but when we talk about the exploration or drilling of wells, under conditions that proportionally favor foreign companies, there are sectors that reject this possibility, and these are obstacles that we must overcome”, he stated, supporting the need to modify and make the current Hydrocarbons regulation in Bolivia more flexible.
“The country’s situation must be adaptable to the country´s requirements, we must have alternative plans and hydroelectric plants are a great alternative”
